


The Girl From Mistral

by ElCuervo



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Comedy, Drama, Dramedy, F/F, Light-Hearted, chapter 4 illustrated
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:48:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 43,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23811100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElCuervo/pseuds/ElCuervo
Summary: Team JNPR can't stand to see a transfer student sitting alone during lunchtime. So they tell Pyrrha to do something about it, there's nothing the invincible girl can't do after all.Unfortunately that transfer student is Cinder Fall.Set somewhere during the start of V2
Relationships: Cinder Fall & Pyrrha Nikos, Cinder Fall/Pyrrha Nikos
Comments: 63
Kudos: 95





	1. She's Alone During Lunchtime?

“Are you sure about that Nora?” 

“Yes, silly. Go talk to her, look, she’s all alone!” Nora whispered, ‘subtly’ pointing towards the tall transfer student, Cinder.

Indeed, eight spots on her table and no other student took a single one, the sight of a girl sitting alone during lunchtime wouldn’t be something she condoned, considering her own time in Sanctum. It was just… there was something about her that rubbed Pyrrha the wrong way. It made her feel even worse, considering how judgemental people could be.

“Why don’t you do it then?” she asked.

“Hey, I’m brave, but I’m no invincible girl.”

Pyrrha hoped Nora would stop calling her that, it always made her feel out of place. An outsider.

Jaune laboriously swallowed a mouthful of the canteen’s food, then spoke up, “I think Nora has a point, Pyrrha. We studied this just last week, you said that in times of peace Huntsmen and Huntresses are supposed to engage with people, to keep up the positivity. It would be a good thing to make the new girl feel at home.”

“Plus, now that I think about it, she’s always sitting alone during class too.” Jaune added.

“She’s from Mistral, right?” Ren asked. “You’re both from the same place, you’ll have plenty to talk about.”

“But you’re from Mistral too! So is Nora!” Pyrrha protested, well aware it was for naught.

“Yeah, but we studied in Signal Academy.”

Nora put her hand to Ren’s shoulder, then solemnly shook her head. “It’s okay Ren, I’m sure she’ll be alright, lonely and in a strange place, _so_ far away from home sweet home.”

Pyrrha folded her arms, and stared Nora down, refusing to dignify that with a retort. Not that it stopped Nora.

“Far away from her family and her friends. Who needs friends, right?” the restless redhead leaned into Ren and wailed with over exaggerated flair, bringing the back of her hand to her forehead and doing the best impression of someone who was about to faint.

 _Nora, please stop._ That was a low blow!

“Oh I’m sure she won’t be missed when a Grimm gobbles her up because we failed our _duty_ to help ward off the negative feelings… Oh! The humanity!”

It wasn’t fair, why would Nora bring out the big guns like that?

“You guys are the worst ever… of all time,” Pyrrha announced. She left the table with her lunch, then moved towards the new girl, it was Cinder, right? She stopped on the opposite side of the table, face to face with her.

“Hello!” Pyrrha exclaimed, mustering as much cheeriness and courage as she could without going over the top. “Do you mind if I sit here?”

The girl stopped mid-bite, eyes widening as she looked up at Pyrrha from beneath her eyebrows. Confused, perhaps? Or annoyed that she stopped her from enjoying Beacon-grade risotto? Maybe she should go…

As soon as the thought crossed Pyrha’s mind, Cinder answered, “Not at all. Please, have a seat.”

Reluctantly, Pyrrha took the seat, setting her food tray on the table. The girl eyed her cautiously from behind ebony locks, letting her bangs fall and obscure one eye. Maybe she was shy? _Way to go Pyrrha, not even a minute in and you’ve already made her feel uncomfortable._

“So,” Pyrrha trailed on, laughing nervously, “I’m Pyrrha. I see... you’ve picked the risotto!”

“I’m Cinder,” she looked from her meal to Pyrrha, then back to her meal, “And yes, I did.”

“They used to cook some in Sanctum. I like to eat it too. It really helps when I feel homesick, you know?” That got a chuckle out of the raven haired girl. It was good right? Progress? Maybe Pyrrha was talking a bit much, was she being too forward, too pushy?

Cinder raised an eyebrow, “Can’t say I miss home but I never thought I’d miss Sanctum’s food.”

“That emblem on your uniform, you’re from Haven, aren’t you?”

She took a careful bite from her food, looking at Pyrrha as she talked “Yes, I am.”

“I was thinking of attending Haven, before I decided on Beacon, how are things there?”

“Unsurprisingly dull. I suppose that’s the result of having such a spineless Headmaster. In a way, I’d say you’ve made the perfect choice.”

“Really?”

“Positively so. If half of the latest... adventures I’ve heard about happened in Haven? Leo would have a heart attack.” A soft smile spread to Cinder’s face, and it made Pyrrha a little nervous, until she reminded herself not to judge too soon.

Cinder dragged her food tray out of the way and leaned forward a little, placing her elbows on the desk, and her palms on her chin, letting her hair flow over her shoulder, “So, what brings the Mistral regional champion, the face of Pumpkin Pete’s, all the way over here during lunchtime?”

“Ah, well, I noticed you’re new here, and I thought offering a nice welcome would make the experience a lot better, help make a few friends, at least until your team arrives!”

“I don’t have a team.” Cinder answered, nonchalant.

“Oh! I’m sorry!” Pyrrrha apologized, covering her mouth. _Stupid, stupid!_ She began hatching a plan of escape, could the tray be used as a stepping stone to jump out of the window? No, that would reveal her Semblance, maybe use it to pull a fork to the ground, then run away underneath the table towards the main corridor. Yes, that was a good plan.

“Don’t be, it was mostly because of a misunderstanding in the paperwork Haven loves so much. No tragedies here.” Pyrrha breathed a sigh of relief, crisis averted. “But it is quite the honor to be in the company of the invincible girl.”

 _Oh, that again._ Pyrrha would be lying if she said she wasn’t flattered, but once more that feeling of distance passed through her, like she was far away from the person in front of her. 

“It seems like your team is rather appreciative of it too,” She pointed a finger towards her team. Immediately, as Pyrrha turned to look, every single one of them pretended to occupy themselves with something mundane. Scrolls, pancakes, or in Jaune’s case, pretending to be absolutely baffled by a half-moon chip

Cinder smiled as she took a pen from her bag along with a piece of paper, wrote something in it then handed it to Pyrrha, “Here’s my scroll number,” she said with a wink, getting up from her seat and taking her plate, “Well, look at the time. I think I’m satisfied. See you soon.”

She walked away, or rather, strut away, left foot to the right and right foot to the left, meandering along the line between them and the exit to the hall.

Dazed, Pyrrha walked back to her team, sitting down wordlessly.

“See Pyrrha, was that so hard?”

***

Fools, all of them.

Cinder could have burst out laughing if it didn’t carry the risk of gathering unwanted attention.

She walked down the corridor, back to her own dorm. How gullible were these future Huntsmen and Huntresses? She almost felt stupid now, it was so simple! Perhaps she should have strung the girl along, made up a sob story about a non-existing team, pretended that there was some tragedy there. That is if the thought of spouting such cliche didn’t make the bile rise in her throat. If she knew all she had to do was sit in plain view, wait, and one of them would simply drop onto her lap and offer to be maneuvered just like that? Oh then she would have tried it sooner!

And not just one of them, but the greatest of them. The invincible girl. 

Cinder unlocked the door, entering her dorm room. Quiet as it was just after lunchtime, she could finally have some peace, and wash her mind of the frivolous activities these… immature so-called future guardians engaged in.

 _Ooh no, I don’t like my leader, I should be the leader because I’m rich and I think the world revolves around my navel!_ She mentally mimicked the high-pitched noise that the heiress produced, just one of the incessant, irrelevant and frankly, infuriating things about Beacon.

She laid down on her bed, contemplating. That area of the Academy was dreadfully quiet, no birds, no students chattering or practicing outside. Cinder knew how important balance was. Too much noise and it was a cacophony, but too little and she felt in isolation. The next classes wouldn’t be until the next half hour, so she wouldn’t have the chance to feel bored halfway to death until then.

She could send a message back to Watts, but instead she decided to warn Emerald and Mercury not to come yet. This would be best if she wanted to keep up her alibi until the Vytal Tournament

And indeed, a tight alibi would be key, this opened up so many possibilities Cinder couldn’t even begin to think about it. Of course, she would need to make preparations, hide a few things, just in case her new “friend” were to drop by unannounced. Such as…

 _Huh._ Cinder hadn’t actually carried that much with her into Beacon, and amounts of dust and weaponry that would be suspicious in any other place were actually very common in the Academy. In fact, it would be strange if she _didn’t_ carry any with her at all times.

She’d still need to weave dust into other clothes, but that was the least of her issues.

As she finished typing her message, her scroll buzzed.

 **[Private Message 12:15 AM] Pyrrha Nikos** **  
**  
_Hello again! How r u?_

Oh this semester would just be perfect.


	2. She'll Be My Classmate?

To be a Huntress was something that required continuous effort. 

Dedication, time, training. Many brave Huntresses went through the same exact things Pyrrha did, often forgoing a social life altogether, just for the job. She couldn’t say she was ever scared of Grimm, when facing them one could always fall back on their training, to feel instead of thinking, because success meant there would be time for healing later. 

She was never scared of an opponent in the ring. People made mistakes, and with a Semblance like hers, they often made more mistakes than not.

So why is it that the chance of studying with the new girl kind of daunted her?

“Hurry up everyone!” Professor Oobleck said. “You have until the end of the class!”

Was it because she didn’t have a plan to just talk to people? Socializing was never her forte, why couldn’t it be safe like texting? The emojis and abbreviations made it _so_ much easier to express herself.

And if she was being honest, they were kinda fun to use, regardless if Nora thought she ‘overused’ them or not.

Professor Oobleck approached them, coffee mug in hand, “Team Juniper. Due to the... unusual status of Ms Fall, Ms Nikos will be the one to pair with her. I’ll be allowing Jaune Arc to make his report alongside Ren and Nora, as a trio instead of a duo. Be aware that I will be grading it accordingly, ” he finished, offering Jaune a stern look.

“Understood. Thank you sir,” Pyrrha answered. She knew the end result as soon as Professor Oobleck announced they’d be writing reports on the ramifications of their hometowns local history, it was a foregone conclusion. She was from Mistral, and there was only one other person from there available.

“Cheer up Pyrrha!” Nora giggled, “At least you’ll have _something_ interesting to put in your report.”

“Hey! Plenty of interesting things happened where I come from!” Jaune said, offended at the insinuation.

“Like?” Ren challenged, sarcasm bleeding through even his stoic demeanor.

“Like… Once it was windy, and a scarecrow came flying right off the crops nearby. Well, tumbled. Fifteen feet or so. But it gave a couple of kids a scare!”

“Wow, such high octane action,” Ren said, rolling his eyes.

“I’m feeling just a wee bit of sarcasm coming from you two,” Jaune said indignantly.

“Look at the bright side, Jaune,” Pyrrha said, “if you manage to survive this class, Beowolf packs will be a cinch,” she patted him on the shoulder.

Nora mimicked a sound, something alien, between an angry bull and a rattlesnake. Those definitely weren’t the sounds Bewolves made.

Pyrrha moved to Cinder’s row, leaving the banter and Vale farmhill stories behind. As entertaining as that would be, the class assignment wouldn’t write itself. 

The new girl was staring at the whiteboard, entranced, head resting in her hand, until Pyrrha approached. Maybe this time it would be better to talk a little less? It was hard to know if she’d made a good impression on the new girl or not.

Cinder faced Pyrrha, then moved to the side, inviting Pyrrha in with a pat on the seat, “Quite the turn of events, I certainly didn’t expect Oobleck to be so… Understanding of my current affairs,” She said, her voice raised just enough so Pyrrha could hear through the chatter of students

Pyrrha offered a chuckle as she sat down next to the raven-haired student, “Well, we do try to stick to the philosophy of Hunting, even in class.”

“Ah yes, that tradition.”

“Well, I’d say there’s a little bit more to it than that, it could even be the subject of our report,” Pyrrha smiled as she teased the subject.

Cinder raised an eyebrow, “Oh? How so?”

“One of the main principles of Hunting is unity. It’s why we train in teams, and sticking together through the worst is something that goes beyond just Huntsmen," Pyrrha raised a hand to her chin, "You’ve been to Argus, right?”

“Only while attending Sanctum. I lived outside the kingdom before.”

“Did you ever notice how since they stationed the dust barriers, military bases, robots, all of that, Grimm sightings on the outskirts of the city only increased?”

“I’ve heard rumors.”

“Well, the principle of unity isn’t just for tradition, it was developed after studying society as a whole, and how we succeeded the most when working as a group. Argus created a degree of separation, a division, that while it may seem to work in the short term, isn’t a solution to Grimm attacks. They show exacly how and why we need each other as much as we need to survive.”

Cinder watched intently as Pyrrha talked, nodding slightly, “That is true. But some would say that all that matters when it comes to survival is strength. That’s it’s power above all.”

Pyrrha’s stomach churned for a second, but she ignored it, “That’s bandit talk, Cinder.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, they’re cowards, the lot,” Cinder said, “But the nomadic lifestyle itself could be seen as a divergent form of development, one that may have grown due to Mistral’s different ecology of Grimm, among other factors.”

Interesting. Pyrrha hadn’t thought about it like that before. It was true that in part, because she detested the bandits that caused no small amount of strife among the smaller villages outside of the kingdoms. But it was nice to have a mental dispute once in a while, “That is true, but even the bandits require a degree of cooperation among themselves.”

“And if we look at the way they act, the same basic necessity for survival is there, even if it didn’t rise from formal studies. It’s hard to deny the practical applications of mobility, especially when it takes time for a Grimm to detect negativity, and that’s not the only way they track people down. In a way, settling requires a consistent effort.”

Cinder stared into Pyrrha’s eyes, was it a challenge?

“It follows, but the benefits of creating a settlement far outweigh the risks, which is why bandits are forced to live in small groups, and prey on even smaller villages. Food supplies, culture, economy, relations with other villages and cities, it increases the strength of the kingdom, and all it takes is extending a hand.”

Pyrrha smiled and extended her palm, to demonstrate. Unexpectedly, Cinder took it, a soft, warm hand enveloping hers.

“You make a superb point. As expected of the champion.”

“I- just Pyrrha is fine.”

Cinder didn’t let go, moving closer instead, “But what if they take advantage of it? We both know Mistral’s reputation. Of lies, deceit, disguises of the elite. Corruption. What if they take your hand, and use it to hurt you?” Her hair fell over one eye, and gods, was it getting hotter in the classroom? Pyrrha could swear they had the air conditioning unit on. 

“Well… ummm, I...”

Cinder’s eyes widened as she let go of Pyrrha’s hand, “Oh! I must be making you so uncomfortable.”

“No!” Pyrrha uttered, in a tone that was almost loud enough to cut through the classroom’s chatter. She winced, and upon realizing that nobody was looking, carried on, “I just… hadn’t considered it before.” 

Cinder hummed in response, an unspoken question, but Pyrrha didn’t know if they were talking about Mistralian history anymore. Heat spread to her ears, and she hoped it was simply a transitory feeling, “I’m ninety-nine percent sure we’re right on track with what Oobleck assigned for class, so we should get to writing the paper, or else we’ll run out of time.” 

Cinder smiled, “Yes, we should.”

***

Truly fascinating.

The invincible girl had the fighting expertise to compete with the best of the best, and the mental aptitude to be accepted as a teacher before she even graduated. 

_Not that it says much._ Especially considering that even Beacon’s standards for Huntsmen and Huntresses were somewhat lacking compared to some of the more vicious criminals and warlords out in the world, and there seemed to be a terrible trend among Vale's Hunstmen. They'd either die on the field, or become teachers, with rarely any other option in between and a colossal overlap between the two.

Her talent was wasted here, and why she chose to hamper her development so much remained an enigma to Cinder as she gazed at the redhead. One of Ozpin’s many flaws was that he used them as pawns, never realized their potential. He held them back. True that potential didn’t mean much, other than them not being good _yet._ But it was important.

And Cinder _loved_ potential.

Could she perhaps convince Pyrrha of how useless their struggles were? She would make for a particularly powerful ally, an equal if she did say so herself, but Pyrrha had nearly closed off since she decided to write the fruitless piece of busywork in front of them. All by herself too, despite Cinder’s protests. Perhaps she pushed her a little too much? She didn’t misread her, that was for sure, so maybe-

Pyrrha asked her a question. 

“I’m sorry?” Cinder snapped herself back to the present, stopping her train of thought.

“It’s just, you know, you said you’re from outside the kingdom. That must’ve been tough.”

“Well, I was. I’m sure you’ve met plenty of outsiders.”

Pyrrha stopped writing, “Don’t talk about yourself like that, you’re _not_ an outsider.”

Oh? Why did the invincible girl even _care?_ “I didn’t mean it in any particular way. It just came out.”

Pyrrha looked at Cinder, concern spreading over her face, “Still, you’re not an outsider. You’re with us now, right?” Slowly, concern gave way to a bold grin, “In fact, I think we should make it official”

Well, well, the champion was a box full of surprises wasn’t she? “What do you have in mind?”

“All this talk about Mistral history and life, it has me thinking. You know how a long time ago, before the war, for every successful hunt there would be village-wide celebrations?”

“From what I understand, back then hunts were long, sometimes lasting weeks, and the future was always uncertain.”

“Yes! You see, due to some… duties my team has been a part of lately, we’ve had access to Beacon’s kitchen, and we managed to sneak some food into our dorm.”

Pyrrha lowered her voice to a whisper, then moved closer, “Ren is quite the cook, and we’ve been planning a party with team RWBY. One more person wouldn’t be a bad thing, and we’d get to add you as an honorary Beacon student!”

Cinder paused for a second, confused at the mental image of Pyrrha Nikos, Mistral regional champion… nicking food from the beacon kitchen. Perhaps she had more of a rebel streak than Cinder gave her credit for. 

What could she even say? It would be such a leap in her plans, not only would Cinder get the redhead to trust her completely, but also her team, and the adjacent, meddling team RWBY. She would be able to follow their affairs with more efficiency and accuracy than ever before, how could she ever turn that down?

And of course, a night that _isn’t_ marked by the sound of crickets chirping outside her window was simply a bonus. Having nothing to do while infiltrated was a slow and insidious killer after all.

“That sounds like fun,” Cinder smirked.

“Great! I can’t wait to tell Ren, Nora and Jaune about this, they’ll be so excited!” Pyrrha sang the words, turning back to finish the paper

_Oh yes, so much fun._


	3. She’s (Finally) Texting me Back?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as a warning, this chapter is a little longer than the previous two.

“You did _what_ ?”  
  
The dorm lights were dim at the moment, and it was night already. Oh why had she waited so long to tell them?

“I’m sorry!” Pyrrha apologized on instinct, already aware of the storm to come.

Nora wasn’t having any of it, and leaped from her bed to face Pyrrha, “Why would you do that? I said make friends with her, not to turn our party into a tribal hunting ritual.”

“It’s called _Matsuri,_ Nora!” Pyrrha said, folding her arms and leaning forward, “I’ll have you know it’s a very ancient, important, and not to mention sacred festival! It’s not what I wanted to do, I just used it as an example...” she hesitated for a few seconds, not wishing to give Nora even more ammunition. 

Nora put her hands to her hips, and as she was about to speak, Jaune cut in, “Nora, I think Pyrrha’s idea is pretty good,” he said, looking up from the comic he had in hand.

Nora looked from the blonde back to Pyrrha, “See? Even _Jaune_ thinks this is a bad- what?”  
  
“Well, Oobleck did say it was important when he read her report, as Huntsmen and Huntresses it is our duty to-”

“Yea yeah, unite and protect, yadda-yadda,” Nora mimicked Oobleck’s stance with an imaginary coffee cup as she recited the words, “Jaune you’re just saying that because you didn’t even know Mistral had festivals. Or that Huntsmen have a code.”

Jaune, still wearing the blue Pumpkin Pete’s onesie, closed his comic book and leaned back on his bed, contemplating, “But it still doesn’t mean we can’t have Cinder come over. The more the merrier, right? Making a new friend can’t be that bad, and Pyrrha already invited her, I don’t wanna be rude.”

“Hey,” Ren cut in, “It’s easy for _you_ to say that when I’ll have to time my cooking on a pancake per minute rate.”

“See?” Nora pointed a thumb to Ren, incensed by the comment, “You’ll overwork poor Ren! Who’ll cook me pancakes if Pyrrha’s amazonian hunting ritual knocks him out for good?”

Was Nora hiding something? Pyrrha couldn’t tell, but a feeling nagged on the back of her head, one she quickly stomped out of her mind like she had done many times before. Nora was her _friend,_ she was probably just nervous, or stressed. 

“It’s _not_ a ritual, Nora,” Pyrrha argued, and she’d be lying if she said reducing Mistralian tradition like that didn’t annoy her. She sighed, letting herself cool down before continuing, “And what’s the problem? I thought you’d like the idea, we’ll meet someone new, Cinder will get to have fun for once, it’s a win for everybody.”

Jaune jumped from his bed, “Oh! I'll help Ren cook, that could help!” he offered.

“Wait a second, let’s not go that far. I like a culinary challenge every once in a while, and my cooking is not going to lose to Yang’s. Again.”

Nora looked at them, frustrated, even more than when she overslept only to find out they were out of Ren’s homemade pancake syrup.

“That’s not the only problem. It’s not even a problem, ok!” Nora admitted, then let her tone fall to the rarely seen serious one, “Pyrrha, when you were writing that report with her? She was looking at you like a hungry Ursa. It was like seeing the cogs behind a Grimm’s eyes turn just before an attack. She’s bad news. There, I said it.”

Pyrrha’s brows furrowed, “Maybe it’s just the way she looks at people?” she considered.

Nora turned to her boyfriend, planting a foot down in her exasperation, “Ren, you noticed it too right?” 

Ren, on his part, only looked at Nora and offered her a so-so gesture. She groaned, annoyed by her partner’s supposed lack of perception.

“I think someone’s _jealous,”_ Jaune teased, folding his arms, “Afraid the new girl will take Pyrrha from our team, Nora?”

“I’m not! That girl just... I know what I said a few days ago, but she really gives me the heebie jeebies,” she continued with an exaggerated shiver.

“She’s very nice once you get to know her.” Pyrrha reassured. “We could take her with us for our next mission and you’ll see. I’m sure the teachers will allow it, since she doesn’t have a team. It’s just recon anyways, and the party is only this weekend, plenty of time.”

“I think that’s a good compromise for now,” Ren said, touching Nora’s shoulder, “Who knows, maybe you’ll make friends with her too, Nora,”

“Hmph, fine, but you’ll do all the training paperwork, Pyrrha,” Nora pointed towards her, “They’re a snoozefest, Oobleck always packs it with filler, and don’t even get me started on the budget-” 

“A snoozefest would be welcome, actually,” Ren interrupted, “We need sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day.” 

“Yeah,” Pyrrha breathed the word, and the others nodded in return. Everyone was already in their pajamas, weary, and as much as they didn’t want to talk about it, the upcoming mission would set expectations. “I’ll send Cinder a message, and fill out whatever. Good night everyone.”

“Good night,” they answered in unison, laying down on their beds. Pyrrha turned off the lights, sat down to text Cinder and turned on the desk lamp, so she could fill the exercise paperwork that mimicked Hunting Contracts, or ‘Quests’, as some liked to call it. Considering the moonlight, maybe turning on the desk lamp was unnecessary, but she liked the warm, soft glow of the device, and how cozy it made her feel. 

Try as she might, Pyrrha couldn’t resent being stuck with the paperwork. She kinda liked it, in the same way she liked the more quiet moments with her team. It was just as much a part of being a Huntress as training, law enforcement, or hunting.

She opened her scroll, and tapped the name of the raven haired girl. 

**[Private Message 11:27 PM] Pyrrha Nikos**

_Hello! R u awake? Srry, 4 texting this late :)_

Pyrrha put her scroll down, wondering if the message was a bit too lively for that time of the day, maybe she should delete it and resend? No, then Cinder would get two notifications for just one message, that would bother her. Would it? When Pyrrha texted her the other day she hadn’t answered with much more than monosyllabic answers. That, and Cinder seemed to be very formal. Almost as much as Weiss

Was she freaking out about it? It was just a text, who cared if Cinder didn’t like the way she typed? At least she wasn’t _afraid_ to talk to Pyrrha like other girls. Sure, Nora wasn’t afraid of her either, but hanging out with Nora involved a nearly deadly amount of exercise and sweet food. Cinder seemed like she’d like some different things. What if she thought Pyrrha was weird?

Okay maybe Pyrrha cared a lot, but that wasn’t a bad thing. She cared about Jaune, Ren and Nora too. Thinking about it, Pyrrha gazed at them for a few moments. They were sleeping already, but Nora was turning in her sleep, enough to let concern and guilt wash over pyrrha. 

As she reached for her scroll the message notification popped up..

 _Damn it_. Too much time spent agonizing over the message, too little actually writing it.

**[Private Message 11:45 PM]Cinder Fall**

_Hi, it’s okay. I was finishing one of Port’s exercises. However, a mistake must have happened, because I only received one message, not four. What did the other messages say?_

Was Cinder serious? No, no way, she must be joking. Maybe Pyrrha misunderstood her.

**[Private Message 11:46 PM] Pyrrha Nikos**

_Haha, you’re really funny! Anyways, I talked with my team about the party, and unrelated but do u like recon missions?_

**[Private Message 11:48 PM]Cinder Fall**

_I have no problems with recon missions._

**[Private Message 11:48 PM] Pyrrha Nikos**

_Gr8! U wanna come with us to our next mission tomorrow? Asking cuz we haven’t posted our quest yet :)_

**[Private Message 11:52 PM]Cinder Fall**

_Sure, it’ll need my signature, correct?_

**[Private Message 11:52 PM] Pyrrha Nikos**

_Yea, still can’t believe they’re using paper for this. I’ll take it to class tomorrow, they only take a few minutes to process the request anyways_

**[Private Message 11:59 PM]Cinder Fall**

_I’m not doing anything, so I could sign them right now. If you’d like to come, it’s the west wing room 636._

**[Private Message 11:59 PM] Pyrrha Nikos**

_I’ll be right there_

The west wing? Pyrrha thought that was where mistral students would be staying months from now, but right then, they should have been empty. Maybe it was another paperwork mistake...

Nora tossed and turned on her bed again, then sat up and launched a pillow across the room, hard enough to startle Pyrrha. She was having nightmares again. 

Pyrrha couldn’t remember, was it Jaune’s turn to wake her up, or was it Ren’s? A long as they did so before Nora reached for Magnhild, it should be fine and nobody would get hurt. It was earlier than usual though.

 _Maybe I should wake up Ren, just to be safe._  
  
Pyrrha took the quest papers and whispered to Ren’s bed, calling his name. Her quiet teammate opened his eyes on the first whisper, and simply asked, “Is it Nora?”

“Yea, I’m sorry, I must have stressed her out.”

He sat up on his bed, stretching his arms and neck, “Not anyone’s fault. It’s pretty early for this though, she didn’t get the hammer, right?” he asked, breathing a sigh of relief once Pyrrha shook her head.

“Good, I’ll wake and watch her, if you want to go to sleep.”

“Actually, I texted Cinder, I’ll go take the quest papers so she can sign them, bye!” She whispered, so that they wouldn’t wake Jaune.

Ren opened his mouth to argue, then gave up, and got up to walk to Nora’s bed. He kneeled close to her, and whispered her name a few times. Unsurprisingly, she didn’t wake up.

“I’ll be back soon!” Pyrrha said, opening the door and looking back just in time to witness a half-asleep Nora launching Ren through the window.

_That’s the third one this month._

She jogged into the corridor. Not only was it too late to be walking around the hallways, now she had two things to solve before going to bed today. Great. 

Admittedly, installing new windows was getting easier with time.

***

Hook, line and sinker.

Who would think that Pyrrha would simply offer to take her into a mission? Cinder herself couldn’t believe it when just as she demanded Watts would stop being an insufferable tool so they could move on with their plans for control of the quest board, the champion of mistral herself simply… offered it. It was discombobulating to the infiltrator, was Pyrrha that innocent? Or perhaps she meant to make Cinder let her guard down?  
  
No, that was unlikely. It would have required Cinder misreading her, and she could read anyone like an open book. This was no attempt at manipulation, she simply wanted her company. Perhaps gaining her trust would be easier than she believed, especially when it was so freely given.

Wonderfully, it also spared her the effort of talking to Watts, or even recognizing his existence. Even through text the man managed to exude the energies of a pompous buffoon, unwilling to acknowledge the fact that his skills lay firmly within the realm of cyber security, not the nuanced art of manipulation. 

Cinder smiled at her scroll as she sat on her bed, leaning on the surprisingly soft pillow. Fifteen minutes ago Watts had demanded an answer regarding how much control she wanted. A foolish question, when he should have known anything less than complete control would be unacceptable for an operation such as this. She was happy to leave his messages on read, especially now that someone far more important than him was on her way.

Roman, the thief, still hadn’t confirmed the paladin deal. The White Fang rally would be happening soon. Those terrorists had their chance at their revolution before they bit more than they could chew. Now it was up to her to guide them to Salem’s path, what better motivational device could she give them other than a batch of Paladins?

Atlas did love to give so many sermons on how their style of warfare couldn’t be defeated, wasn’t it time to put it to the test? She delighted in the idea of using their own weapons and vehicles, created to serve in the front lines against Grimm, White Fang and defiant citizens alike. Boasting a successful utilization record of seven thousand, four hundred and thirty six simulated…

And one actual that had conveniently been redacted. They were ready to fight on demand.

If the fugitive thought he could swindle her out of the resources necessary for the next step in their plan, then perhaps she should make it clear to him how much of his continued existence depended on her. One anonymous call to a Hunting Center and soon his hideouts would be swimming with Huntsmen and Huntresses that coveted the bounty placed upon him.

_Wouldn’t that be an entertaining night._

There was a knock on the door, and Cinder put her scroll down on her bed. Good, she was here, although that was surprisingly quick. Looking through the peephole with the bunch of keys in hand, Pyrrha had both hands on her knees, one holding a stack of papers, and she breathed heavily. Had she run all the way to the west wing?

“Just a second,” Cinder said, as she opened the chain-lock. Then the knob lock, the padlock, the secondary, tertiary and quaternary locks, and finally, typed 1-1-7-3-4-3 into the password lock, opening the door.

“Come right in,” Cinder invited, as casually as she could, “Do you want something to drink? Or…”

“Yes, I’d very much like that,” Pyrrha gasped the words between breaths, leaning on the door as soon as Cinder closed it.

Just beside the Beacon-issue study desk Cinder kept her mini-fridge. Kneeling as she opened it, Cinder hummed to herself, “I still have some strawberry juice if you’d like it,”

“I don’t want to take your good stuff, just water is okay,” Pyrrha said, offering a smile as she tried to keep her breathing steady.

“Oh, please,” Cinder dismissed, “Like I’d let the Mistral champion have just _water_ after you ran from the other side of Beacon in record time? Here, I’ll pour us some,” she said, taking the jug to the dorm “kitchen”. A name she used, if only because it certainly embellished reality, considering how it consisted of a microwave, a sink, a sink shelf, and a single cabinet, all crammed in a single corner, just besides the window opposite to her bed. 

Cinder still debated inwardly the benefits of smuggling a dust-powered oven into Beacon Academy. Ozpin would pay for reducing her into someone who subsisted on ’instant noodles’, that much she was sure of.

She handed a glass to Pyrrha, who took it and drank without further hesitation. As she poured her own, Cinder heard the rhythmic sound of her scroll buzzing. It was on mute, so thankfully didn’t need to hear the obnoxious default jingle-

Until she heard a light chuckle coming from her bed, and remembered she had company. Damned be that device.

“Umm, Cinder, who’s ‘Clockwork Cretin'?” Pyrrha asked, and for a moment Cinder appreciated how the she didn't struggle to contain her laughter, at least it made the blunder sting a little less.

Cinder rushed for her scroll, “Oh, no one in particular, family, you know how it is,” Cinder said, rejecting the call, forced laugh escaping from gritted teeth, “And I’d rather they didn’t interrupt our conversation,” she reassured the redhead that now sat on her bed.

“You didn’t have to reject it just for me,” Pyrrha smirked, “what if they miss you?”

“That’s certainly _not_ why they’re calling,” Cinder answered, and that much was entirely true. Roman most certainly would like nothing other than distance from Cinder, and had the nastiest habit of calling when he could simply have sent her a message.

Cinder sat down next to Pyrrha, perhaps a little too close, but the she didn't seem bothered by it in class, and Cinder understood why. A lot of people, human or faunus, needed some degree of proximity, and life as the untouchable champion of Mistral must be tragically desolate, “To continue our conversation, you want me to go on your next team mission, then?”

“Well, yeah, I mean, you don’t have a team, and Recon missions are important too, so I’d like to take you,” Pyrrha chirped, bouncing slightly

A question popped into Cinder’s mind, and before she could begin maneuvering the conversation, she let it fall into the space between them, “Just you, not your team?” she asked.

After querying, she noticed how much of an important question it was. To know who was amicable, neutral or hostile was important, details that weren’t in her mind previously. She had almost let her guard down for a moment, and what a disaster that would have been.

Pyrrha’s expression was confused for a second, “What- no!” she gasped, “They… accepted it pretty well, after I pushed back a little.”

Wretches. Fools. Imbeciles. They barely knew Cinder and already passed judgement. What did they know about her other than how she looked, where she was from, and that she talked to their dear teammate _twice_? Why did they reject her?

No matter, it didn’t change anything, she didn’t need them. Cinder overcame rejection, isolation and ridicule before. She should have expected no less from Ozpin’s pawns. 

“Cinder?” Pyrrha asked, breaking the silence she failed to realize had set into the room.

“I’m sorry, I just space out sometimes,” she offered a couple of chuckles to redirect the Pyrrha’s attention.

“You were shaking,”  
  
“No I wasn’t. Anyways, about this mission, Any idea who we’ll be shadowing?”

“Ah, well, you see... normally we wouldn’t know. But let’s just say that if, hypothetically, I just happened to come across the room where the selection process was taking place...” Pyrrha offered her a playful smirk, and Cinder redoubled her attention, not only to every word, but also to how the redhead looked bathed in the moonlight. She had underestimated how apt Pyrrha could be as a rogue if she so wished. The champion took her time recalling the events, “Well, if I had come across such a thing -”  
  
Pyrrha stopped mid-sentence when Cinder’s scroll lit up again. Once more, it read ‘Clockwork Cretin’. Amazing, Cinder would have to remind herself to have a stern conversation with the thief. Again, she refused the call, that time activating the scroll’s ‘airship mode’, and making a mental note to change Roman’s name to ‘Clockwork Clam Jam’ in the future.

“I’m sorry, please continue,” Cinder said, repressing her fury and frustration with herculean effort.

“Well, if such athing had happened, I would have been there, in the middle of the night, just after I picked up a new window from storage, and staff had gathered in auditorium zero-five. Oobleck, Port, Goodwitch, Peach, Mulberry, Greene, even Ozpin himself. They were there at two in the morning, can you believe it? So I thought it was strange, at least I would have _if_ I was there. Hypothetically,” She said, punctuating her sentence with a wink.

So Ozpin’s conspiracy preferred to group up during the dead of night, how appropriate. Cinder leaned closer, as if the words would leave Pyrrha’s mouth sooner when she did so.

“Then, they were there, discussing who should take what teams, and I heard the word ‘Juniper’. I swear my heart stopped for a second. I almost thought they spotted me but it wasn’t the case. Ozpin called it, and then he called-”

Once more, the naive redhead was interrupted by Cinder’s scroll lighting up without a warning. Now the name read ‘Detestable Pinhead’. Of course, who else would bypass airship mode other than Watts? 

She picked the scroll and would have torn it apart were it not for Pyrrha’s presence. Instead, she satisfied herself with breathing in deeply, and _firmly_ removing the battery, despite the fact it was bolted on. It earned her a confused and intrigued look from her current visitor.

“Ignore that, please continue,”

“Who was that, was it fami-”

“It was family,” Cinder answered bluntly. 

“I’m sorry, do you wanna talk about that instead?”

“No, please continue,”

“Did… Did they do something to you?” Pyrrha asked, with a concerned expression and with the slightest bit of confusion in her words.

“Yes, they’re very annoying and they keep interrupting you," two separate problems that managed to intersect that night of all nights, "So, you were saying something about Ozpin, and him assigning your team a professor?”

“Oh yeah! Well, there I was, and Ozpin starts saying something about how Mistral bandits were making their way to Vale, then something else. I don’t know, couldn’t hear it very well. Glynda wasn't buying any of it, she didn't think any of her students were ready for ‘search and destroy’ missions yet, especially against people, and I kind of agree. I hear those can end up in more than a few casualties, you know?”

Cinder nodded, and in the midst of it, felt her left arm flare with pain. It was the Grimm parasite, the one that granted her the fragment of power she currently held. Odd, because it never hurt before, so maybe it was trying to call her attention? She felt lightheaded, but pushing her senses out with her aura, she understood why.

Near the dorm, on the tree a few stories below, Salem had sent a Seer to check up on her. 

_Again_? Why now?

“Cinder, are you okay? You’re looking a little sick,”

Oh she was. Her head spun as she turned to look at Pyrrha, offering a nice and warm smile to make her pay attention to anything else, “Yes, yes, I think I just need a little fresh air,” she answered. Cinder left a subtle fire mark on the back of her scroll --about the size of a pin -- before she laid it on her bed again. She rose as quickly as she could without firmly planting her face on the floor--meaning painfully slowly--and walked towards the window. Catching the Seer within her vision she could see the pest was a few stories below, but it was floating up, mistaking her presence for confirmation that it should approach. With a thought and a subtle wag of the index finger, she activated her fire mark, causing her scroll to smoke, alongside her bed. 

“Oh no!” Pyrrha cried out, sensing the smoke as soon as it surged. She shot up from the bed, careful not to spill the glass of strawberry juice. It was a good distraction, enough for Cinder to vaporize the pesky Seer that threatened to blow her cover when she used a quick and dangerously inconspicuous blast.

At least destiny was kind enough to have placed her in an empty wing of the Academy.

Cinder leaned into the window so she could use it as support, strength had briefly left her body and she couldn't tell for what reason. The scroll was quickly engulfed in flames, in response the champion ran to the hallway, picked up the fire extinguisher, and exclaimed, “I’m sorry!”

Before Cinder could realize what Pyrrha was even apologizing for, it had already been done. Her dress, bed, floor, walls, kitchen and even some of her drink was covered with the white, powdery substance that the fire extinguisher used. Great, Ozpin didn’t even have the courtesy to grant his students carbon dioxide extinguishers. Another misdeed she’d add to the ever increasing list of Ozpin’s sins.

They stood there for a couple of moments, before Pyrrha spoke up, “Well at least it didn’t spread, that could have been a disaster.”

Cinder processed the words for so long she couldn't tell if it was moments, second or minutes, wondering how much of this could be considered a disaster. Salem certainly wouldn’t be happy that Cinder hadn’t answered, “That’s okay, I’ll just turn the mattress over. Anyways, so who picked your team?”

“Oh, that? It was Goodwitch.” Pyrrha answered briefly. Almost too briefly, when at the moment Cinder could’ve used a good distraction. That would have to do.

Glynda Goodwitch, the combat instructor. How interesting that they’d send one of their biggest guns to a recon mission. Perhaps it would be more dangerous than Ozpin was letting on.

“So,” Pyrrha caught her attention again, “Do you want to come?”

Cinder nearly allowed herself to be startled for a moment, before realizing that the champion most likely hadn’t thought of the implication those words could carry. Whatever reaction she might have shown, would surely be excused for standing so close to the window. She steadied herself, letting the nausea slowly wash away from her body, then answered, “Yes, I’ll go with you, and your team.”

She signed the papers, and almost too quickly Pyrrha was ready to make her way out, “I have to run. Gotta pick up a new window on my way back, long story. Sorry,” Pyrrha shrugged.

“It’s okay. See you tomorrow, I suppose. You can tell me all about it then,” Cinder all but purred the words. Pyrrha went red, and although Cinder wasn’t sure if she was aware of the fact, she didn’t need to ponder on it after the invincible girl took off running. They had said their goodbyes already, and she had provided plenty of important information, willingly, even. 

But now that she was gone, something bothered Cinder, formed a pit in her stomach, and it was hard to place her finger on why. Was it Roman and Watts repeatedly interrupting her conversation? No, that barely struck a nerve at the moment. Was it the chance that Salem would scold her? Unlikely, Salem would understand that she needed privacy, once she explained. What bothered her so much?

It would have to be left as a problem for future Cinder to solve. Already her relationship with Pyrrha was paying off. She was unknowingly feeding Cinder with information, knowledge, the most important of weapons. Tomorrow she would be handing Cinder a direct pipeline to Beacon’s intelligence and operations. And, as a bonus, she did invite Cinder to a party, a perfect opportunity to vent the stress of running a sabotage, and to raise morale.

Too tired to follow her better judgement, Cinder sat down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling.

Before she almost let herself lay down and drift to sleep, something clicked on her mind and it was almost fleeting, yet she managed to trap some of the impulse. Tomorrow she’d meet Pyrrha’s teammates. Is this what bothered her? No, but it was close. She didn’t particularly care about them, but did they really already dislike her? If so, would they influence Pyrrha? Would they advise the champion to stay away from her, or even force her hand, with whatever excuses they find?

She couldn’t allow that, no matter what.


	4. In the Shadows of the Emerald Forest

Why would she follow wannabe Huntsmen and Huntresses to one of the most time-consuming experiments in futility?

Cinder arrived at the hunting assembly one hour before most teams deployed. The park that Beacon appropriated for the event was almost empty, occupied by trees, grass, the biting cold of the morning, and the assortment of academy support staff.

Their work was never done, as Salem once said.

At least the sun was starting to rise, brightening the sky, and meaning that soon it would feel less like she walked into Atlas wearing clothes meant for Vacuo and more like a normal summer morning.

And yet, Team Juniper remained where they were. Pyrrha was still nowhere to be seen, so they hadn’t approached Cinder, or even recognized her existence. Of course they hadn’t, if before they didn’t want her anywhere near their teammate why would any of them have accepted her after a night of sleep? 

As much as Pyrrha would have denied it, Cinder was an outsider _here_.

It didn’t matter. She didn’t give it a second thought, even relished having her own space considering what Watts and his little program found in the Beacon files of Team Juniper. The short redhead that kept glaring at her was Nora Valkyrie, the quiet and perpetually tired one would be Lie Ren, the blonde was Jaune Arc.

They were average at best, or a hindrance at worst in the case of their leader. She would have avoided the trouble of remembering their names were it not for the fact that they mattered to Pyrrha. Redhead, Quiet and ‘that guy over there’ seemed to fit perfectly fine.

With someone like herself and the one and only invincible girl present? Their incompetence should be less of a problem. Dust was weaved into her dress, and she forged an exquisite steel bow with the use of her semblance, better than the weapons of students. 

The fact that Pyrrha still hadn't arrived caused Cinder some degree of indignation. Had someone attacked her last night? If the way she publicly made fools of Team Cardinal not too long ago was any indication, there could be more than a thousand reasons someone would try to attack an undefeated champion in the dead of night. 

It was odd, she wasn’t particularly afraid of Beacon’s little bullies, she wasn’t worried about anything else and yet something about Pyrrha's absence felt wrong. Such thoughts were dashed out of her mind as a pair of scout cars turned the corner of the street from the direction of Beacon academy. Their engines were silent, perhaps they didn’t use dust. 

The forest green cars were roofless and doorless, even though it didn’t do much to trim the bulk of what might be called all terrain vehicles by any sane person. Although the spray-painted emblem of Beacon academy made them seem brand new, Cinder presumed they were lighter versions of older models, machines from before the Great War. 

Amusing, perhaps the war was never won.

After a moment to focus her vision Cinder spotted Glynda Goodwitch in the passenger seat, - given away by the light blonde hair and purple cloak dancing in the wind - she was pointing at a nearby spot and ordering the combat driver. Behind her sat Pyrrha, adorned in her brass armor. 

Pyrrha vaulted out of the vehicle as soon as it parked and walked to the space between Cinder and her team, carrying the confidence of a Huntress, with which she beckoned both Cinder and her team to come closer. That was something Cinder could rival. _Chin up, back straight, walk with purpose_. Couldn't show any weakness on the first ‘quest’.

_What a terrible name they chose for mission contracts._

“Sorry,” Pyrrha said to all of them, “Professor Glynda called me in since I delivered the quest papers”.

“It’s okay,” The blonde one said -the boy- what was his name again? Johnny? Juane? Oh yeah, Jaune, “But I thought we’d be taking an airship?”

“We were. It seems like Glynda wasn’t in favour of using any of those for recon,” Pyrrha answered, glancing at Cinder. “And seems like it’ll help our chances too. Glynda said that if it wasn’t for adding Cinder to our mission, we’d be stuck with a single dropship, nothing Ozpin would be able to do about it because of kingdom restrictions. If there are any enemies in the area, they’d hear us coming from a mile away,” she stopped for a second, counting a few numbers silently, “Technically one point six miles away.”

"Not very productive for a recon mission then," Ren added.

“At least we get a road trip out of this, right?” Nora said.

“Makes me wonder why teams don’t do this more often,” Jaune said.

“Because Ms Fall is an exception, Mr Arc,” Glynda cut in and scared the group, making the blonde jump in place and a chill run down Cinder’s spine. Fortunately, she was able to repress the fight-or-flight instincts, remaining in place even as Beacon’s most skilled, experienced and effective combatant stood only a few feet away from her. What was the viability of stealing one of the scout cars, just in case an escape route suddenly became necessary?

Glynda’s eyes narrowed behind her glasses, and moved between Cinder and Pyrrha. As she did so, Cinder made sure to look straight ahead, before the Huntress continued her briefing.

“She’ll be with us because we can’t let a student shadow Huntsmen alone. Any other questions before we start briefing?” Glynda paused for a moment. There were so many questions Cinder wished she could ask, but they would be too suspicious. It was better to stay silent and unnoticed. On the plus side it neatly mirrored the discipline that the other students besides her displayed.

“Good. Listen up Team Juniper,” she asserted, “We’ll be looking for the relay tower in the Emerald Forest area. Contact was lost last night, first responders and security in the area have since been declared MIA. The Council thinks deploying a Huntress and five students to the area is a misallocation of resources and a waste of valuable teaching time. The Headmaster and I disagree.”

 _Smart and pragmatic._ Glynda deserved her good reputation.

“We suspect some Mistralian bandits formed an alliance. One month ago they pulled a similar strike in Mistral, hit their relay towers effectively blinding them, then stole newly bought Atlas technology. The purpose of our contract is to find who did this and bring the tower back online. This could take more than a few days. Any questions?”

“Ms Goodwitch," Jaune spoke up, "What if we cross paths with them?” he asked the question Cinder would have, if none of them spoke up.

“Then we’ll introduce ourselves to them, but our main purpose today is scouting the area, not starting a fight. Move with caution, _do not_ underestimate anyone. Understood?”

“Understood!” they announced in unison with the spirit of a battle cry. 

“Good. Jaune Arc and Lie Ren will come with me to the lead car,” she looked at Pyrrha, “We’ll be trusting Ms Nikos, Ms Valkyrie and Ms Fall with our backs.”

With the pace of someone who was simply moving to their office for another day at work Glynda walked to the vehicle alongside Ren and Jaune, and the trio left behind followed to the backup car.

Nora scowled as she jumped over the car door to the front seat, “Really? We’re the _backup_ ?”

Pyrrha laughed as they approached the vehicle, “It’s not so bad, if everything goes right they won’t need backup anyways. Cinder you’ve been really quiet, what do you think?” she offered a hand to help Cinder into the back of the vehicle. 

“I think it’s a job that must be done,” Cinder answered. The operator started the car as soon as she fastened her seatbelt at Pyrra’s side. Within a moment they were moving down the boulevard, leaving the park behind.

Nora turned around to face them, “Oh come on, you don’t need to give us the classroom answer, It’s just between us girls.”

Cinder gave Nora her best incredulous look, then nodded towards the driver, prompting a groan from Nora.

“Okay between us and him, but he won’t tell, will he?” She invaded the poor driver’s personal space and pointed a finger at him to intimidate, prompting the operator to vigorously nod his head in agreement.

Cinder hesitated for a moment. With all eyes on her she couldn’t even shift the focus to something else, something like the silent engine. 

“It seems like she trusts us to protect each other. I’d want a backup I can trust.”

“Really? And you trust us just like that?”

“Nora!” Pyrrha chastised the annoying redhead. 

“Calm down Pyrrha! I’m just asking her,” she turned to face Cinder, “I mean you’re new, and we’re basically strangers, we’ll be here for a while so might as well talk a little,” she put a hand to her chin.

“Well... in any case I trust you. Pyrrha was nothing but friendly to me.” Cinder answered. She leaned closer to the champion besides her, who seemed overwhelmed by something, she couldn't tell what.

“Makes sense,” Nora said, “You wanna talk about something else? From the way Pyrrha is looking at me I think we should talk about anything else.”

There was a pause between the three of them. Cinder surely would have preferred to go the mission mostly unnoticed, but it wasn’t a possibility anymore, and it only made her feel uncomfortable. Fortunately, Nora was the one to break the silence.

“So… Your bow, did you make it?” She continued.

“As a matter of fact, I did,” Cinder answered, ignoring the smile that speaking of her weapon always brought to her face. Perhaps Nora wasn’t as clueless as she first seemed, “It’s also a couple,” Cinder split the bow at the grip, allowing the string to collapse into the blade. She held both of the weapon’s limbs as they were meant to be held; a pair of curved short swords.

“I didn’t know you also used swords,” Pyrrha said, trying to tuck her bangs behind one ear despite the wind.

“I could show you some of my moves,” Cinder said, “I even know party tricks I can do with them.”

“Ooh, that’s spicy!” Nora cut in, “When did you make it? “

“It’s a newer model, but I came up with the idea a few years ago.”

Nora whistled, surprised by the statement. It was true, and Midnight was one of the many things Cinder had to be proud of.

“I was about to say it looks brand new,” Nora wondered, a question that was a tad bit too close for comfort.

“Maintenance, you know how it is.”

“Do I? Every time Magnhild needs new linkage it’s always a headache!" she groaned "I wish we could at least ask for some spares but Goodwitch always says…”

“Anything more than you need right now can be arranged later,” Nora and Pyrrha repeated in unison, mimicking the combat instructor’s voice with eerie accuracy, then sighed, punctuating the quote that was likely spoken at them more than a few hundred times.

“I have to admit,” Pyrrha said, “Miló has the same problems, but I didn’t know you liked weapon design, Cinder. Did you ever think about becoming a blacksmith?”

Did it mean that there was an opening in the invincible girl’s armor? Perhaps maintenance was a problem across all Huntsmen, not just her. After all, the more elaborate a weapon, the more chances it had to break. However, Pyrrha had asked her a question, Cinder would look like a fool if she simply stood there thinking. Again.

“I never considered blacksmithing. I suppose the more active roles attract me. Maybe I should try it in the future.”

“I think you’d make a good blacksmith. Can I see your weapon up close?” Pyrrha asked, extending an open palm to Cinder.

“Sure, take it.”

With the care one would expect from a collector Pyrrha took the onyx pair. Carefully, she slid a finger across the side of the blade, then tested the weapon. First by slowly brandishing it a couple of times, then by balancing the blade on her arm. The Vacuo way, testing how it felt first, and how the technicalities measured second. 

All the while Nora watched them both like a hawk. Cinder could have sworn that it was just a feeling, an impression that the redhead had only just changed her expression, from serious to lively as soon as she looked at her.

“It’s a beautiful weapon.” Pyrrha praised, in less of a ‘false but necessary compliment’ that Cinder might have expected from others, and more akin to the way someone might describe the sunset or a fact of life, “Does it have a name?”

“Midnight.”

“It’s a beautiful name too,” Pyrrha smiled. 

She handed the blades back, with the same care as the first time she took it. It was difficult to find someone who gave weapons as much dignity as they did to people. Cinder had made the right choice.

“So it’s the minute hand and hour hand?” Nora asked, and Cinder nodded, “That’s brainy!”

“Thank you.”

 _Smarter than expected._ Nora carried her wits under a veneer of cheeriness, akin to what Cinder imagined a certain mute bodyguard would be like if she could talk. If Nora was anything like the Neopolitan girl, perhaps Cinder could sway her with food too? One tub of ice cream here, a few ‘Lov’s Grapes’ discount coupons there, and in time the energetic student might leave her alone, or even cease prying into personal affairs?

Regardless of how Cinder would deal with her, the fact remained that she was definitely easier to cooperate with than the Neopolitan accomplice.

It was a shock to notice it, but they had already moved outside the city, to the dirt roads that led into villages and farms. The scout car was fast enough to make the trees and houses no more than blurs of information. 

“Anyways, about the _mission,_ ” Nora said, scorn dripping from the word, “Who wants the first watch? Someone will have to do it.”

“I’ll take it,” Pyrrha sighed, “I’ll take the last watch too. At least it’ll calm my nerves,”

“Already want the fun all to yourself again?”

“You know me,” Pyrrha smirked, “I _love_ competition.”

“If you find something to crush before me again we’ll have some serious problems, _missy_.”

Pyrrha chuckled, “I know, but you had a rough night.”

“I’m okay now,” Nora defied.

She stared Pyrrha down for a few moments, a non-verbal demand, perhaps. Chances were that there was some hidden discord between the two. Maybe it was something Cinder could use to drive a wedge between them. Whether or not she would need to, that was a different question entirely.

“Sorry,” Pyrrha admitted, “You can have tomorrow’s. If I see any bandits you’ll be the first one to know and we'll introduce ourselves to them Beacon style. But for today I need this. Deal?”

“Deal.”

 _“It’s good you’re making extensive plans now, Ms Valkyrie and Ms Nikos.”_ came Glynda’s voice from the car’s radio. _“Our planned camping site and evac route may have been compromised, the estimated time is now officially unknown. Stay alert.”_

A two-way communication link. How did Cinder forget to account for something so simple? Now Goodwitch definitely had some information Cinder wouldn't have willingly given to her.

_“And do remember to turn off your radio when you don’t have an emergency situation.”_

“Understood,” Nora answered the radio, then pressed the circular button that shut off the radio for good. She looked back at them with her eyes open wide in shock, “Oops, do you think she heard everything?”

“I think she would have said something sooner,” Pyrrha wondered, possibly reminiscing of both imitating the Huntress, “Maybe you pressed it on accident?”

“How long do you think we can dodge detention?”

“For misuse of equipment? Ms Goodwitch didn’t seem bothered.”

 _That_ was a good chance for Cinder to interject.

“I was wondering about that. I didn’t even know Beacon had vehicles like these.”

“You didn’t know about these?” Nora asked, tilting her head and furrowing her brows, “How long have you been here?”

“About one month now,” was the response that would neatly tie into the fake documents in Beacon’s databanks.

Nora’s eyes narrowed for a moment, “Makes sense.”

“Jaune says it’s common near farmhills,” Pyrrha said, “Pre-war technology isn’t worth much nowadays.”

“It’s a shame isn’t it?” Cinder tested with her best sorrowful tone, maybe this would make Pyrrha give away a few extra secrets.

“Yes!” Pyrrha cheered, the relief in her tone was palpable, “Pre-War technology had so much potential, almost every weapon relies on dust nowadays.”

“Ugh,” Nora dragged out the word, “Here we go again.”

Pyrrha chuckled, “I am going to put you through that lecture as many times as it takes.”

“Bleh, let’s change the subject again before I start getting flashbacks,”

Seeing the two talk to each other for minutes without care brought another smile to Cinder’s face, enough security to allow herself to lean back on her seat. Perhaps the rest of team Juniper would mirror Nora in some way? They could be more amiable than the people Cinder already knew, and without the exhausting chores that simply interacting required of her. For a few moments she didn’t feel the pressure that weighed on her shoulders day and night.

 _No_.

What was she doing? This was exactly how they lured in the innocent to _die_ for them. This was how Ozpin manipulated and treated them as pawns. Soothing, pacifying before reality had a chance to sting, to scar and damage them for good. Most of these students were hopeless now, and she was brighter than that. They even treated her like an outsider before. To nearly let their presence get a hold of herself only proved how powerful this insidious force really was.

 _“Nora, Pyrrha, Cinder, we’re entering the ruin zone,"_ Jaune said through the comm link, _“We're cut off from the CCT tower already, from here we’ll have to cover the rest of the ground on foot.”_

A few minutes later, both cars stopped at a dead end, raising dust from the dirt road that led into the outskirts of the Emerald forest.

***

A Seer observed, from the safety of branches atop one of many wild trees.

It was difficult to follow the mark. The emotion it could chase was scarce and nearly completely removed from the area. No creature nearby felt loneliness. No longing for better places. Nothing. It was forced to rely on its sight.

Two silent vehicles advanced by where it was ordered to wait, and it detects something mixed with negativity. Small, but real, and it could follow.

Such would have been impossible if not for the nature of the mark. The one with the parasite implanted within her arm, the same one who carried a fragment of great power from ages past.

She was not alone as expected. This created a dilemma only the master could solve. 

The impulse was passed to it’s master along the mental link they shared, every judgement would first be passed to her. 

Another impulse returns, clear and simple. A confirmation, an order to follow and keep a distance. 

***

How mind numbing could these hunts be? The answer was clear to Cinder now.

Extremely so, to the point of nearly inducing madness, and she couldn’t even remedy the worst of it without giving away suspicious knowledge. It made her ponder on possibilities and lose herself in thought, seeing things as an observer.

If there was some positive to that status, it was that a little objectivity never killed anyone after all.

She knew Goodwitch already suspected that there were no bandits in the Emerald Forest. Not too long after they arrived she noticed the pattern, no signs of encampments within the ruins, no trees cut down to build fences, no suspicious movement, at least not in their surroundings.

At the very least Goodwitch led team Juniper into a good job of sweeping the space, better than Cinder initially predicted, as much as internally admitting so was something of a bitter pill. They covered a decent enough radius to guarantee there would be no surprises when camping. With the inclusion of someone like Cinder herself among their ranks they even killed the occasional stray Beowulf or Ursa with expected ease. 

All throughout it Cinder was sure she could feel Nora’s eyes burning behind her, even if she never looked back to check more than a couple of times. 

The quest began eighteen hours ago and Juniper were yet to find any clue of who attacked the relay tower or any of the missing first responders. Even the sun had set long ago, leaving them with only moonlight breaking through the overgrown trees. 

This was definitely not one of Roman’s jobs, considering how he held the bare minimum level of competence, enough not to call this much attention. Or maybe he was confident enough not to try, it didn’t really matter either way. There was a chance Raven was the one responsible, however the bandit rarely ever left her safety in Mistral. She was a coward like that, and there wasn’t much to gain by attacking a relay tower when her targets were generally villages that couldn’t defend themselves and an act such as this invited retaliation.

There was a chance someone on Cinder's side was playing their hand too soon. However, at the moment the one responsible for this didn’t seem to be as much of a concern as Nora’s near Ursa-like snoring. Using the pillow to cover her ears and deafen the sound had proven as useless as this quest, and waking up Nora didn’t seem like a good idea when the girl only barely seemed to accept her presence.

She needed some space, even if only for a few minutes.

Pyrrha was the one on watch at the moment, and sneaking away from camp was surprisingly easy seeing how her focus was elsewhere entirely. Cinder could have bothered herself with overused safeties such as stuffing her sleeping bag to appear she was sound asleep, but she had complete confidence in her ability to return before daybreak. Taking Midnight she moved out.

Finally, she had peace when among the trees, ruins and moonlight. Ruins that were once temples and houses. She sat near a stone wall that was more part of another wild tree than anything resembling a structure, it brimmed with pieces of crude, colorful paintings. Families with children under the sun. Couples holding hands. Figures brandishing spears around a Goliath.

There were others, but they weren't the ones that caught her sight. In a way she could appreciate them, if not for the resourcefulness of those who painted it in an era of unrefined tools then for the work that could withstand centuries. It made for an acceptable distraction after a day with the future ‘protectors’ of Vale.

Whatever quiet she found didn’t last. Through her aura Cinder felt a presence that confirmed what she suspected the night before. Salem wanted to talk, and when Salem wanted to talk all she ever asked of Cinder was that she sat and listened. Without an excuse to incinerate the Grimm on the spot, she remained on the ground as the Seer floated from the shadows. Red smoke manifested, surged from the creature and formed the visage of the white haired and ivory-skinned woman attired in her usual black dress. 

Calm and composed the image of Salem moved in her direction, crouching down to her level and yet still positioned so that Cinder had to look up to her. She spoke in the same soft, comforting tone as always.

_“Cinder, honey, you were never the type to ignore your responsibilities.”_

Cinder wanted to tell her how she never did. How she found a good chance to go above and beyond just like Salem wanted her to. Nevertheless she knew better, knew that interrupting Salem now would be a mistake, wrong, biting the hand that fed her. 

_“I was so worried that something could’ve happened to you,”_ the image continued, _“Worried when you sent those underlings of yours back to my home, and I was shocked when you not only refused to talk to me but killed the last Seer.”_

Salem held a hand to Cinder’s cheek, making her lean into it out of instinct, momentarily forgetting completely that the image was just that, a projection.

_“Tell me Cinder, why did you do this to me?”_

“I didn’t mean to-” was all she could say before Salem raised a palm in a gesture telling her to stop.

_“That’s not what I asked.”_

“...I found someone who could be useful, and she was present at the time.”

_“She? Who is this girl?”_

“Pyrrha Nikos, the Mistral champion.”

_“I see. Then I suppose you already have her at your side?”_

“Not yet, I need more time. In just the time I’ve been here I already got so much inf-”

 _“Enough. I’ve heard enough,”_ Salem commanded, and Cinder obeyed while trying to keep her own body from shaking, the frustration to a minimum.

_“I warned you precisely of this, of what Ozpin’s pawns will do to your mind, that you needed more than… whatever this is in order to fulfill your destiny. I believed it was clear that you were not to interact with them under any circumstance. And yet you still disobeyed me.”_

Salem stood up and looked down at Cinder, _“I didn’t think I needed to say something twice to a girl as intelligent as yourself. Do not force me to. Understood?”_

It was hard for Cinder to say anything, the words felt as if they had left someone else's body, “Understood.”

The image dissipated and the seer floated away, leaving Cinder to her own thoughts in a way she didn’t know could be worse than the snoring of a soon-to-be Huntress. She watched the seer disappear among the trees, would it continue watching her until she left the Emerald forest? Just the thought of it formed a pit in her stomach, left Cinder digging her nails into her arm to curtail the frustration in vain.

She turned away from where she came, but the stirring of leaves alongside Nora's voice stopped her.

“There you are! Pyrrha told me to come look after you.”

Cinder didn’t answer. She didn’t know if Salem would be seeing this or not. It didn’t matter either way, since it appeared that Nora wanted to do most of the talking as she walked to a few steps behind.

“Trouble sleeping? Was it my snoring? Ren says my snores are the loudest.”

“No, it wasn’t you,” Cinder replied. It almost was, but if she was being honest to herself now, the snoring wasn’t the only reason she couldn’t sleep.

“Ah. I have trouble sleeping sometimes too. Night terrors, you know?” She offered an awkward laugh that died down into silence after a moment, “Jaune read somewhere that it’s pretty common across Huntsmen, so I guess we’re not alone, right?”

“Sure,” Cinder said, in as much of a neutral tone as she could, hoping it would make Nora leave her alone so she wouldn’t need to brandish to Midnight. It only gave the girl some pause before she continued

“Look, I owe you an apology. I wasn’t being very nice today, I think maybe I started seeing bad things where there weren’t any. I shouldn't have done it and I won’t do it again, promise.”

She was apologizing? For being critical of a complete stranger making her way into Juniper's quest? What made the girl feel like she needed to apologize for being logical?

“So... Please come back? I think I brought some midnight treats I could share.”

Weighing in in the alternatives was surprisingly easy. Salem was likely watching. She made Cinder feel miserable and alone just a few minutes before, she’d be furious if her orders were disobeyed _twice._

So Cinder turned around and followed Nora back to camp. She would prove that her plan was the path to victory.  
  


[](https://imgur.com/YSlndVQ)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, as you can see I've illustrated one my favorite scenes to write so far, I hope everyone likes the painting, I might make more of them for the next chapters.


	5. A Rainbow in The Dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, first things first, I am sorry for the delay on this chpater. I had some medical problems to take care of, nothing too serious but things that should only have taken a few days extended to weeks, and it ended up consuming more time than it should.
> 
> Second, I've painted a scene from the last chapter! If you haven't seen it you can take a look at the end of chapter 4, or you could visit my tumblr. So, back to schedule.

At this point Nora had to wonder if her own aura was playing tricks on her. She looked back at Pyrrha’s new friend and still felt the same feeling she did when there were Grimm nearby. That was as far as she was letting her train of thought go this time, repeating that mistake would be insanity.

 _Smile._ Nora looked back to make sure Cinder was still there as she acted on the thought. Smiles were good, they kept the bad thoughts away. Thankfully, Cinder smiled back, even if it was a tired and gloomy smile. 

_Unacceptable!_ Nora thought. That was no good, what did she say to Pyrrha a while ago? 

_Far away from her family and her friends. Who needs friends, right?_

Everyone needed friends, even the sinister, tall, black-haired girls who looked a little too much like the villains in Jaune’s comic books. 

_Well, maybe they need friends more than anyone else,_ Nora considered.

Nora pivoted on one foot and stopped moving. “So, are you a Mints Ahoy or a Lov’s Grapes kind of girl?” Depending on how the soon-to-be honorary member of team Juniper answered, that would make Nora’s mind for the rest of the year--no, the rest of the decade, at least.  
  
“Isn’t Mints Ahoy the one that tastes _exactly_ like mouthwash?” Cinder answered, now looking more discombobulated than gloomy, and that was a positive in Nora’s book.

 _Bingo._ “Hah! You’ve got that right! _That_ was a test, and you passed it with flying colors.”

“Is it really that much of a test? I don’t think anyone in their right mind would like Mints Ahoy.”

“Hey! It could be a sanity test,” Nora crossed her arms, and Cinder laughed at the joke. That was better, it was so much easier to talk about terrible candy, and sometimes people’s tastes could say a lot about them.

Pyrrha, for instance, loved bonbons. She’d never let anyone know, but Nora had seen her sneaking some out in the dead of night when everyone else was asleep. When confronted on it, Pyrrha simply deflected or changed the subject. It was as annoying as it seemed, especially because Nora would have appreciated a bite of whatever the one and only champion of Mistral was having.

Jaune, on his part, didn’t seem to have one single type of food he preferred. Nora once saw him ask Ren for pizza without any of the pepperoni, cheese, tomatoes, onion or green pepper. So really what he wanted was just the crust.

Ren… Well, Ren liked pancakes which meant that Nora absolutely loved pancakes more than anything else in all of Remnant. Forever.

But Cinder, what did she like to eat? Nora put a hand to her chin, thinking. If she had to guess from how the student looked, she’d have to say ‘the hopes and dreams of children with a side of fresh, still beating hearts’ but thinking like that wasn’t very productive, so she shoved that damned gut feeling away once more. Hopefully that was the last time she’d have to.

“Are you okay?” Cinder asked, confusion washing over her face as she lifted one eyebrow, “You look like you’re a little… sick, maybe?”

It was better to ask later. They were approaching the camp, and as her luck would have it Ms Goodwitch was waiting for them. She brandished her crop as they came closer, and spoke up in a tone Nora was unfortunately too familiar with.

“Ms Valkyrie and Ms Fall, justify your absence from camp. Now,” she commanded with a swing of her crop, as if to underline the statement.

Well, where should she start? _Hey Ms Goodwitch, I tormented our temporary teammate until she left us in the dead of night! Isn’t it awesome?_ Nora struggled to think of a good answer, one that wouldn’t make Goodwitch punish her with detention for the rest of her life. She wasn’t sure if teachers could give students detention for life, but it damn well sounded like something Glynda would, and could do.

Cinder looked forward, raising her chin, “I take full responsibility, Ms Goodwitch. I couldn’t sleep, and I needed to be alone. Nora simply went after me.”

Glynda stared them both down for several long seconds, the cold eyes of a veteran Huntress scanning both girls. She lowered her crop while breathing a sigh of relief, “It’s okay.” She pinched the bridge of her nose, then continued, “Other students have the same problem. You’re on the clear so protocol is not important here. And Ms Valkyrie, I know what you’re thinking, you don’t need to worry about added time to your detentions.”

“Thank you so much Ms Goodwitch!” Nora cheered, already relieved that she wouldn’t need to see Ms Goodwitch for the rest of the school year every saturday.

“I believe this shows you might not need it as much as I initially believed. What I must do--” she inched closer, and turned to face Cinder-- “is make sure Ms Fall is aware of Beacon protocol. Quests can be dangerous and stressful, so If you need a breather that’s fine, but for the safety of the team you need to warn us first. That way we know where to go looking if we need you, okay?”

 _Is ms Goodwicth a softie deep inside? Deep, deep inside?_ Nora thought, unable to mentally emphasize how deep such softness had to be buried within the combat instructor. Glynda would never say something like this to a student like Jaune, or… Mostly just Jaune, actually.

“Yes, I understand,” Cinder answered, and to Nora the words felt empty and hollow. Maybe she hadn’t done a good enough job of distracting the transfer student, or maybe there was something else to it, something she couldn’t quite figure out. 

“Good,” Glynda said, relaxing and letting her shoulders fall just a little, “Then go back to camp. Everything’s too quiet for a ruin zone, so we’ll move camp soon. And be good to each other”

Quiet for a ruin zone. _Kind of drastic_ , Nora thought. Ruin zones were things like Mountain Glenn or Kuroyuri. No way The Council was already naming the one and only Emerald Forest a ruin zone, she didn’t believe it when Jaune called it, and she still didn’t believe it now, even if it came from Ms Goodwitch.

They arrived at the camp in time to meet the others already putting away their sleeping bags. They had lit the campfire again, maybe to keep themselves warm? Pyrrha stopped as soon as she noticed their presence, smiling, “Hey, everything good? We were waiting for you two.”  
  
“What gives?” Nora asked.

“Jaune wants to talk to everyone,” she gestured towards the teammate, who moved closer while attempting to stuff the assortment of sleeping bags inside his bag, despite Ren’s protests.

“That’s right,” Jaune said through gritted teeth as the covers nearly sprung out of the limited space, “ Gather ‘round everyone, I’ve been thinking about this all day. I have this feeling, and I’m sure you’ve all been feeling it too.”

Ren approached them, forming a semicircle around the campfire. Nora took the chance to hug his arm like she always would, and tilted her head at Jaune, “What feeling?”

“It’s hard to put a pin on it. The feeling that we’re being watched at all times, it's definitely coming from my aura, I’ve read it in some of the books Pyrrha gave me. Something’s not right, we did a good job clearing the area of Grimm.”

“And we didn’t find any signs of Bandits,” Ren said, “Or even the missing workers...”

Jaune snapped his fingers and pointed at Ren, “And _that’s_ where I start seeing a problem. Bandits steal whatever they want then leave people to the Grimm. If they attacked the tower we would have heard from a few of the victims already.”

Cinder raised one eyebrow, “So you’re saying the tower wasn’t attacked by Bandits?”

“I’m saying this isn’t their Modus Operandi”

Pyrrha continued from Jaune’s train of thought, “We don’t know what happened to the tower workers or the first responders, but either they’re hostages or bait. Something, or somebody has to be disturbing our aura, these impulses don’t happen by accident. I think the more we let time pass the worse the possibilities will be for the people working there.”

Cinder shifted on her feet, “So what do you have in mind?”

Jaune wasted no time answering, “We already scouted the area and found nothing but a few Grimm. By protocol the next thing we should do is return to Beacon and make a report.”

“But we can’t do that!” Nora cut in, “ They’ll just call Ironwood’s dumb robots to stand around and do nothing, this is our quest!”

“Nora, you hit the nail on the head!” Jaune said with a self-satisfied grin, despite the collective groans of annoyance at the thinly-veiled pun. 

Pyrrha folded her arms, “You’re right, we didn’t come here to do nothing, find no one, then go home empty-handed. If there are no enemies then there’s no reason five of us can’t make this an emergency rescue.”

Ren shook his head, “But this stinks of a trap, we can’t just walk in without a plan.”

“I think we should act now and raid the tower. We’re already expecting an ambush so it’s a matter of finding where they’re hiding, they don’t have the element of surprise anymore.”

The group went silent, considering the possibility. Nora’s mind was already set, she had already thought of ways to root out those pesky bandits and save everyone, most of them involving heavy use of Magnhild.

“Should we really do this?” Cinder cut through the silence, “We could leave this to the pros and Ironwood’s bots. This could be way too dangerous for us.”

Ren nodded his head, “We _could_ just warn reinforcements that there might be a trap, there’s no need for this. We are just students after all, and rushing things could end in disaster.”

Nora stopped to consider the words for a moment. Ren had a point, as much as she’d hate to admit it. Nora knew it very well that sometimes things weren’t as simple as get in, smash, get out, and she’d come to terms with the fact that she’d often have to wait if she wanted to make some bad guys, really bad guys like the Mistral bandits pay.

“But--” Pyrrha looked at them, a horrified expression across her face-- “The longer we wait, the more lives could be lost, we have to do something, it’s our job!”

“I think Pyrrha is right,” Jaune agreed, “You can’t rescue the dead. An entire day passed already, who knows how many people we already lost because The Council thinks it’s not worth the effort?”

“And we wouldn’t be breaking protocol per se,” Pyrrha retorted, “We do have the duty to help, rescue and protect anyone at any time so long as we’re present, and we are very much present at the moment.”

Ren turned to face Pyrrha, “You’re forgetting the part where we need to be hired to do that.” 

“But it’s the spirit of our work, isn’t it?” Pyrrha argued.

Cinder spoke up again, this time with some amount of concern in her voice, to Nora’s surprise “It’s more complicated than that, if we fail people could die… We could all die,” she looked at Pyrrha and Nora had to wonder

“Then we can’t fail,” Pyrrha asserted in the way she usually would when she got competitive, “I don’t think we should just stand aside and do nothing.”

“What about Ms Goodwitch?” Cinder asked, “She wouldn’t be in favor of us breaking protocol, this could have repercussions far worse than just detentions. We could be expelled or even arrested.”

Was she trying to protect them? _Maybe that’s why she’s trying so hard to stop us,_ Nora thought. 

“That’s why I’ll ask her to help us,” Pyrrha’s words cut through the argument, “Ms Goodwitch is a registered Huntress already, she can make judgement calls like this all the time. We'll be able to make a better plan with her experience…” Pyrrha slowly allowed a grin to spread across her face, “And it’ll be another positive mark on her record.”

“If anything goes wrong,” Cinder warned, not impressed by the proposal, “Then _she_ would have to take the blame too.” 

Ren sighed, perhaps considering the point, “And sure, let’s say Ms Goodwitch agrees. We’ll have the city of Vale’s best Huntress on our side. Even then, isn’t there someone you’re forgetting to ask?” he lightly nodded towards Nora.

Jaune, perhaps only then coming to the realization that he’d been too absorbed into the discussion, fidgeted on the spot as he addressed his teammate, “So, Nora, what do you think we should do?”

It was hard for the short redheaded warrior to consider everything at once, with everyone staring at her she could barely think. Would Goodwitch reconsider her earlier thoughts on detention if they gave her a bad plan? Somehow that didn’t matter to Nora at the moment, and try as she might, she couldn’t get the image of CCT workers begging for help out of her head. She had to go there, and had to fight for them _now_. Not tomorrow, not the day after and she definitely couldn’t leave it for someone else to clean up.

“I think we should do it. And come on, Ren, you know very well that we’ll go ahead anyways, better all five of us and Ms Goodwitch, than just me, Jaune and Pyrrha, right?

“Perhaps, you’re not thinking about all the dangers behind this,” someone said.

“Maybe you’re not thinking about all the people we need to help.”

“We can’t just break rules whenever we feel like it, this could be way out of our league.”

Their argument blended into cacophony, despite the quiet tone, until one voice cut through it.

“Children, please.”

It was Ms Goodwitch, how long had she stood there, watching them? It took a beat for the teacher to continue, “What did I say about being good to each other?”

They didn’t really have a response to that. 

“So let me see if I understand this correctly,” she continued in no rush, moving from one side to the other, “You want to attempt a high risk tactic against an unknown enemy who could be arming an ambush?”

Jaune grimaced at the words, well aware after Glynda put it in plain words that it wasn’t exactly the best plan in the world, “Yeah, that sums it up to be honest.”

“Well then,” Glynda smirked, and Nora couldn’t believe she was seeing the one and only Glynda Goodwitch _smirk_ , “Why aren’t you all discussing semblance synergy?”

***

_Sending distress signal number 1596._

_Sending… Failed_

_Routine security check.... Complete_

_Power currently at… 12%_

_Estimated time to shutdown… 42m:21s_

Fifty eight workers--that included security, tech support, maintenance and first responders-- and there was no way the AI could help them. Her metaphorical hands were tied, access points were locked down, power was cut, and she was now running on very limited generators. In thirty seconds she would be authorized by the constraints of her creators to try again. 

Creators who were kind enough to give her personhood, choice, judgement, even an appearance of her liking all because it enhanced her ability to properly maintain hundreds of towers functioning. In their eyes, her ability to love life, to protect the lives working at those towers was a bonus, unintended. They were kind enough to grant her access to sensors that could spot Grimm within a four mile radius, and yet for the past day it hardly mattered.

_Grimm don’t leave dust burns._

Neither did they hack remotely into communication towers and shut down all forms of communication as they took workers hostage. 

No, this was the work of humans, there were only thirty of them spread across the tower, all dressed like Mistralian bandits. Too well armed for security, they were now on the lookout, spread across the tower, threatening whoever didn’t comply.

It was strange, they didn’t make demands, didn’t take anything, and none of their faces matched with mugshots and mission pictures provided by the Council.

Reviewing that information made _something_ force her to skip through it, reset her memory to the few milliseconds before. So much of her was wrong now, scrambled and modified. 

How had this happened to her systems? Why? She couldn’t tell, even after reviewing her own logs and video feed, this time forced to censor the bandits to avoid this intruding force, this virus from resetting her memory again.

She was forced to operate this way during the past thirty one hours. Always delayed, working in the past.

 _As if working near the Emerald Forest wasn’t hard enough,_ she thought. _We absolutely must have that Vale wide coverage, they said. Our security is top notch, the best in Remnant! We can definitely last more than a month near that death trap of a forest!_ She mocked her superiors with no small amount of disgust.

She hated this. What should she do with no eyes to see, no way to understand the current situation, no mouth to scream for help? She would try it again, but thirty seconds to an AI were eternity.

_Firing routine scan… Complete._

One hundred and twenty eight workers remained in the tower. Their readings were still the same as the past hour, alive--thankfully, if a little cold, hungry and deathly scared. The AI would have felt her blood boil at the sight of it, if she had any blood. 

Erin, who would never miss a chance to tell the AI about her girlfriend Jade. Gray, who was always a little too absorbed in his work. She found them trapped in the upper sections B and C, along with so many others. Bandits were roaming there as well, at least five of them--she guessed.

She had to guess. Another attempt at a scan made her reset and skip the information again, so she worked with what she had, it was still possible to find where they weren’t.

Worse still, she detected two more entering the top of the tower. They had melted through the hull, but seeing them did not force another reset.

_Curious._

They were a long haired boy in green, and a girl dressed in a red dress. They weren’t moving to meet with other bandits but rather avoiding them entirely, moving carefully.

She was forced to shift her focus to the main entrance, where there were at least ten assistants and a dozen bandits. Five point thirty-two seconds after her initial scan one assistant panicked and tried to attack a bandit, only to be clubbed in the head for their efforts. The assistant laid on the floor, alive but badly hurt. The bandits now stood over the passed-out worker, debating what to do.

The one saving grace was that It automatically authorized access to well-being scans. it would be blocked again, but she could use the brief window of time in the programming, the one time where she wasn’t herself but rather lines of code running through a board. It was a matter of precision to predict those milliseconds, and she wouldn’t be able to think or feel, but she didn’t have to in order to brute force her signal through. 

She tried it anyway, prayed for the microscopic chance that a Huntsman or a Huntress would catch it, and come to their aid.

_Listen to me! Please!_

“Hello? Anybody home?” said a voice from the main entrance. A quick check confirmed it was a tall boy in a black hoodie forcing the heavy steel door open, just enough so he could slip in.

“Can anybody help me? I think I’m a little lost, the map said to turn right at the Emerald Forest, but now I’ve got no signal at all! I demand to see a manager now!”

Had he heard her signal? _Negative._ It was blocked like all others. 

One of the bandits said something and the others rushed towards the boy, brandishing weapons that bandits shouldn’t have access to, weapons the AI only ever saw in blueprints from Atlas. _No, not again!_

The boy smiled, and the AI heard a warcry approaching at an unreasonable speed. Too fast to be a person, but not fast enough to make her think the Council was scrapping the location and going scorched earth again.

“Smash!” she heard a girl shout at the top of her lungs as she breached the wall with the force of a wrecking ball, swinging a giant hammer and launching at least two bandits with the same force.

She was followed by a redheaded girl in brass armor who moved from bandit to bandit like a knife, disarming everyone in the area before viollet tendrils flowed from outside, restraining them. The last power was something the AI could recognize, Glynda Goodwitch’s semblance. 

Within seconds the tendrils moved to the floors above, where the two intruders detected earlier used the distraction to ambush another group of bandits. The boy in green stunned them with aura boosted strikes, martial arts faster than the eye could see. The girl in the red dress melted their weapons as she touched them, just in time for Glynda’s semblance to bind them. 

More violet tendrils split and cut through the air at sharp angles. With surprising speed, they searched every nook and cranny of the tower, one floor at a time. Flying up the stairs they struck unsuspecting bandits, dragging them down to the main entrance.

Glynda Goodwitch walked into the tower, brandishing her crop. Behind her the debris moved back into their place, reverting the damage as if it never happened.

“I suggest for your own good that you surrender, _now_ ,” Glynda demanded. Just like that, it was over.

***

“Do you think you can fix it?” Pyrrha asked Cinder.

She had to be careful now, if only because broadcasting her semblance to the workers at the tower could be a grave mistake. Thankfully, Cinder was understanding of it, she didn’t like showing hers either.

“Yes, I think I can, let me just find it, this is such a mess.”

The metal panel on the floor was only wide enough to let one person through at a time, but trying to restore power while squeezed together inside a wall wasn’t actually a problem, surprisingly. 

Rather, the fact that the walls of the tower seemed to be lined with disorganized cables was stressful enough to make Pyrrha wonder how they managed to build the tower in the first place, let alone maintain it.

“Right there, hold it still,” Cinder said, and Pyrrha knew which cable she meant. It was a thick blue cable that was cut through cleanly. Cinder pulled both ends together with no small amount of effort and welded them with a flash of her power. A moment later, they heard the hum of air conditioning units, lights and generators working again.

“Well, I think that’s the last one,” Pyrrha sighed a breath of relief. They slipped out of the maintenance opening, closing the hatch and hoping to never, ever see it again.

Walking to the commlinks and workstations where she assumed most of the hard work happened in the tower, Pyrrha couldn’t help but notice how different the place felt now. Brighter, less depressing. She turned to Cinder, hands on her hips, “So, I think it looks a lot better now, don’t you?”

Cinder chuckled once, staring at a commlink screen. “Yes, I think so too.”

“Something on your mind?” Pyrrha asked.

“Nothing much, really.” Cinder didn’t elaborate on it, preferring to stay silent as they’d wait for Glynda’s next orders.

“What is it?”

“I’m just wondering about what happened here,” Cinder clarified, “It doesn’t make any sense, they didn’t take anything, didn’t make any demands… Ignore me, maybe i’m just tired.”

Pyrrha wasn’t willing to let it go, “Is that true?”

“It is true,” Cinder answered, deadpan.

It was not true, Pyrrha could see it all over her face. Ever since she left the camp Cinder was like this, distant, only giving short answers. Was it just because she had the same problem as Nora?

Pyrrha sighed, she didn’t know if talking about it was the best thing she could do at the moment. She never knew when it was a good time to bring those things up. Instead she preferred to focus on the positive. “You know, what you did there earlier was really impressive.”

“Hm?” Cinder looked at her, confused, “How so?”

Pyrrha took Cinders hands, surprising the girl, “There aren’t a lot of Huntsmen that take the role of infiltration, without you and Ren today I don’t think we’d be able to catch all bandits,” she smiled at Cinder, letting the fact speak for itself. 

Cinder’s expression changed, from neutral to a cocky smile, “You’re just saying that because you got to be at the spotlight today.”

“And you know what else i think was impressive?” Pyrrha continued, “I don’t think many Huntsmen would have the courage to face bandits with just one person to cover their backs.” She inched closer and Cinder opened her mouth to argue, but the notification sound of their scrolls interrupted them, communications returning in what was probably the worst of times.

**[Group Message 01:44 AM] Glynda Goodwitch**

_Ms Fall and Ms Nikos, please return to the main hall. Your current duty is to check for wounded and deliver necessary aid._

The interruption annoyed Pyrrha, “Well, orders are orders,” she said, before closing her scroll and putting it in her pocket..

In the main hall, Not many were injured. Jaune had already given some first aid. Most people only had small bruises or cuts, a fact that gave them all no small amount of relief. Cinder occupied herself with bandaging an employee, leaving Pyrrha with the exciting job of standing around and looking for things to do. At least seeing how many were happy that they arrived was satisfying, even the one Cinder aided was awestruck. 

Despite that fact, she couldn't ignore the feeling that Cinder had a point earlier. something was wrong, they were still missing a piece of the puzzle. 

As Nora approached Pyrrha, she pivoted on one foot, “So, a little less worried about her now?” Pyrrha asked, pulling her best ‘I’m smug and I know it’ face.

Nora was speechless for a moment, “Yeah… yeah.”

Pyrrha smiled at Nora, “Relax, I’m just messing with you. I hope you’re still open to letting her come to our party.”

“I am, and I was wrong okay?” Nora admitted, “Is that what you wanna hear?”

Pyrrha brought a hand to her chin, wondering, “Well, it does help…”

Nora groaned, annoyed, “That’s not the only thing I need to tell you though. After we’re done here, there’s someone else who wants to talk to us.”

“Really?” Pyrrha asked, surprised, “And who’d that be?”

Nora pulled her scroll out of one pocket and opened it in one move, allowing the hologram of the CCTS AI assistant to unfold, polygons taking the shape of a young woman in a uniform.

“Her.”


	6. Whatever Bitter End to Bring

They gathered in the now empty communications floor, where the AI’s central systems were. It was an incredibly lonely place that briefly reminded Pyrrha of Beacon’s west wing, only without the marble floor and arch walls. She’d come to realize that the real similarity between both was how neither felt accommodating to anything living, breathing or feeling.

At Pyrrha’s side, Ren and Nora were sitting on a built-in desk that connected to the wall. Jaune had taken the liberty of dragging an office chair from the floor below and Cinder seemed to be more comfortable standing behind them. 

Glynda was unflinching and unfazed in front of them, standing more like a monolith than the teacher they'd all grown accustomed to as she heard the AI.

“So that’s all that happened here?” Glynda asked.

“Y-y-yes,” the AI tried to reply, her audio continually freezing, repeating and buzzing, “I am-I am so sorry for my brevity, so much of me is corrupted no-n-now.”

The A.I described the events that had taken place in the new tower, despite her rapid deterioration. Something about being present to witness identity death made Pyrrha’s chest feel tight, more so than hearing about the brand new bandits that now had experimental Atlas tech. 

That was her favorable interpretation of it at least, she knew how it looked. Brand new bandits never seen in any investigation before that day, all of them carrying Atlas technology that wasn’t even being produced, who didn’t make any demands, didn’t take anything, and overall did nothing but occupy the space and fight security? To say it didn’t look good for Atlas and their council was an understatement, and judging from everyone’s silence they seemed to agree. Pyrrha even had to remind herself of the fact that looks could be deceiving. 

It was difficult to make excuses for them. Seeing so many innocent people scared and hurt certainly made her less willing to.

Ms Goodwitch broke the silence. “CCTS, instruction: run a full system diagnosis,” she said, expressionless while facing the facts revealed by the artificial assistant.

 _A little cold, even for you_ , Pyrrha thought.

The AI, even in her state, didn't seem like a just program that worked on inputs and outputs, Pyrrha would at least have tried to show some humanity. Maybe it was just the teacher’s way of staying level-headed under such circumstances.

“Executing,” the AI replied dutifully, its voice now monotone, “Result: operating at 100% capacity. All components present.” That this pronouncement came despite barely being able speak made the fact she had been tampered with crystal clear. Pyrrha had been to CCTS towers in the past and knew for a fact this was definitely not “full capacity’.

Glynda narrowed her eyes. “Instruction: storage, now,” she ordered, and the hologram of the assistant obeyed, folding itself into polygons as it retreated into her screen. The Huntress could simply do that under Beacon authority apparently. It was scary for Pyrrha to think about what else her combat instructor had the power to do, her only comfort was that such authority was in Glynda's hands, not another's.

“Team Juniper and company,” Glynda directed their attention in the now familiar and commanding way she usually preferred, “You’ve… exceeded expectations today, all of you. Don’t leave the tower until the dropships arrive. I must make a brief report.”

They all nodded in agreement. Glynda left without another word, moving to the elevator at a brisk pace, moving faster than she had even in the dangerous scenario they'd faced half an hour ago.

To say that the possible betrayal by what they believed to be an allied kingdom bothered her didn’t do it justice. Pyrrha knew she could be making huge assumptions, filling in the gaps with unfounded suspicions, but what facts she did have all seemed to point that way. 

As soon as the elevator left the floor, she broke the silence. “Okay, was that a little strange to anyone else?”

Jaune had stared intently at the ground in front of them since the AI stored itself. He looked up, snapped back to Remnant. “You mean Ms Goodwitch praising us? A little strange, not gonna lie.”

Cinder folded her arms, “I believe she means something else.”

“Yes. What I mean is that whole thing with the ‘bandits’,” she raised her fingers in air quotes as she said the word, “There’s no way those were actual bandits,” There were nods and mumbled agreements across all of them

“Well then,” Jaune wondered, “I’ll be honest Pyrrha, I have no idea what to do from here. This was already out of our league...”

Ren looked at Nora, then draped an arm around her shoulder. Both of them were so tired it made Pyrrha question whether or not now was a good time to follow through with their mission. “That’s one way to say it,” he said, “We should wait for Glynda’s orders, we’re supposed to be learning from her after all.”

Cinder’s expression didn’t change, but she shifted on her feet, “Well, we do need to worry about what we’re going to do with this information, I have the sinking suspicion it’ll be filed and forgotten within a week.”

“Maybe,” Pyrrha continued the thought. She hated this, knowing there might be something she could do, yet being so bound, restricted. “Maybe I’m the one who’s just a little tired,” she said, looking at Cinder with a smirk.

“A little?” Nora cut in, indignant, “You took the first and last watch, you were out there cutting Grimm down with us, and I don’t see any sign of you slowing down. Honestly, I’m starting to wonder if you’re not one of those Atlesian bots.”

“Well, If it helps with one of those worries, I can assure you that magnets are _not_ my weakness.” Jaune, Ren and Nora seemed to relax a little after that. Cinder was seemingly never stressed at all, as if this was old news. Could it be because she was so used to living outside the kingdom? It was hard for Pyrrha to tell, and not just because Cinder remained difficult to understand.

Perhaps it was better to leave her worries out of mind, if only to keep herself sane. 

Uncharacteristically, Cinder was the one to speak up, “In any case, mulling over it would be counterproductive. I believe I saw a vending machine down the hall, it should be better than that ungodly dry jerky Ozpin calls rations anyway.”

Pyrrha didn’t miss the opportunity, “I'll go with you,” she said, abruptly enough to startle her team. When they gave her odd looks, she explained, “Walking helps me calm down. Plus, you never know if another one of these bandits is still hiding around.”

“I’m pretty sure we double checked every nook and--ow!” Ren tried to interject, before being interrupted by Nora slapping his arm. From how she gave Pyrrha a wink, it seemed Nora understood the _real_ reason she wanted to go.

“Hey,” Jaune said, “If you could get me some Mints Ahoy that would be great, I forgot the mouthwash at the dorm.”

“I’ll keep it in mind!” Pyrrha considered, rushing out of the room behind Cinder. From the little she knew about the transfer student, it wasn’t very difficult to change gears and turn her strict laser-guided mission curiosity into more productive interests. 

A thought crossed her mind, invasive and uninterrupted. She didn’t really know much about Cinder outside the obvious facts, did she? The girl never really broadcast much about herself, and for a moment, everything Nora had said for the past two days hit her as soon as she saw the student waiting for her in the hallway. 

“You know,” Cinder cut through Pyrrha’s already frail line of thought, “I’ve never been to a tower before. It’s certainly...”

“Familiar?” Pyrrha suggested, hoping that Cinder would see the same things she did, if only to affirm that she wasn’t slowly losing her marbles after only twenty four hours of uninterrupted consciousness.

“Hmm, a little. It’s certainly as uninviting as the west wing,” Cinder answered, perhaps only then considering the fact, “I was contemplating on how different from all of Vale it feels. One step inside and it’s like we’re in an Atlesian base."

It was a compelling idea. So much of the area was functional. “I’ve never thought about it that way... Maybe it’s just this floor?”

Cinder stopped in her tracks, interested in what Pyrrha had to say, “What do you mean?”

“Well, we’re here already, and I’ve been to other towers before, the upper floors can be really pleasing you know? Especially at this hour”

Cinder took a moment to think, “I think I’d like that. We could really use some peace and quiet, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, that and we still have to fix that opening we had to create…” Pyrrha said, moving ahead of Cinder towards the elevator.

Normally, the emerald forest made for a special kind of eerie, the kind that had Pyrrha wondering whether a shadow was really just a shadow, or if it was a Beowolf or a Boarbatusk waiting to strike. It was simply something else when they were at the top floor of the tower. Refreshing would be one way Pyrrha would put it, liberating or freeing would be another. The moonlight illuminated enough of the now empty communications floor that they hadn’t bothered finding the obscure switch that would turn on the lights, and when viewed through the floor-to-ceiling reinforced windows every tree, star, even the shattered moon were stunning. It helped ignore how cold it was up there, especially when the ‘opening’ Cinder created to enter the tower was only a few feet away from them.

She didn’t mind it. 

It was one excuse to sit down on the floor close to Cinder. Under those circumstances, the maintenance folk could be the ones to worry about property damage for all she cared. 

“You keep looking at that opening I had to make,” Cinder said, once again interrupting Pyrra’s thoughts “Do you wish to fix it now, so we can return downstairs?”

“Not really,” Pyrrha answered.

Cinder blinked in surprise, “Hopefully It’ll be a simple matter to solve, specially with the paperwork.”

“I don’t mind doing the paperwork for us. It’s a part of Huntress duty, boring as it may be. It keeps us clean, far away from the shady stuff some mercs pull.”

“I see.” 

“Plus, it’ll be Ozpin’s problem after we fix it,” Pyrrha continued, letting the smirk on her face speak for itself. Cinder looked through her bangs, one eye obscured by them, and Pyrrha could swear her heart skipped a beat for a second, was this what Nora talked so much about?

Cinder tucked the lock of hair behind her ear, smiling, “You know, if anyone else had told me, I wouldn’t believe the view from a place as cold and sterile as this could be quite so beautiful.” Cinder said, most definitely not looking at the forest as she looked Pyrrha in the eyes. The champion smiled back, a fresh surge of heat rushing to her face. 

Pyrrha chuckled once, taking Cinder’s hand, “As beautiful as it can be in the middle of a Grimm-infested forest.”

“I still can’t understand why on Remnant they’d choose the Emerald Forest, of all places.”

“You know Atlas, _we need that coverage, screw the danger!_ ” Pyrrha lowered her voice to a derisive contralto, mimicking the Atlesian General and Headmaster. Cinder’s resulting laugh was the best sound Pyrrha heard in the past day. “But silver lining, they didn’t make it a main tower. Imagine what a disaster that’d be.”

“At the very least it’d get a proper heating system,” Cinder said.

“The cold bothers you too?”

Cinder looked away for a moment, thinking, then leaned on Pyrrha’s shoulder, “Not at the moment, I’ll live.”

That was all Pyrrha needed to hear. She didn’t know what to do from here. When was the last time she was alone with anyone? Oh, she had been isolated plenty of times before, that was for sure, but letting the walls come down like this just wasn’t something she was used to. Should she say nothing and enjoy the moment?

_What would Ren do?_

Pyrrha visualized the scene in her mind, closing her eyes. A tiny Ren with feathered wings sprouted from her imagination to fly atop her right shoulder, yet even in her mind he was too tired to offer any advice. The devil on her left shoulder was Nora, and that was as far as Pyrrha was allowing herself to let the hallucination go.

 _Back to the drawing board_ . She opened her eyes and Cinder hadn't noticed anything, much to her relief. Thinking critically about it, and knowing Ren, she knew he’d probably say nothing at all, then he’d put one arm around Nora _._ Would it be too awkward if she did the same? Just thinking about it paralyzed her, made a chill take over her stomach, like staring down an abyss from the precipice. 

Thankfully, she didn’t have to think about it. Every question in her mind was answered when Cinder leaned closer, pressing her lips on Pyrrha’s.

***

Cinder loved many things. Power was a given, of course. Without power one couldn’t do much, achieve anything, protect anything. Lov’s Grapes special sundaes? Obviously.

But so many sensations paled in comparison to the feeling of victory.

It didn’t matter where it came from, big or small, the euphoria was the same. Yes, she’d aided in these wannabe Huntsmen and their little escapades, but in return, she now knew things that even Watts wished he did. First hand experience always triumphed, as she expected.

Above all of that, the one and only invincible girl was now starting to see the truth too. The truth behind the fickle alliance with Atlas, and their dirty little secrets. Cinder would be fighting alongside her again soon enough, hopefully not in favor of Ozpin. 

After the airship arrived in the morning with the paramedics, guards and council witnesses, Cinder occupied herself with double checking the injured during the trip. She needed to make sure none of them were even tangentially related to the white fang, it made her job much easier, and it offered some extra bits of information, the greatest weapons she’d ever get. As a bonus, it took her mind off how crowded the ship was.

“Oh, hell,” Glynda Goodwitch cursed under her breath, she was staring out the window, scanning the park they’d be using as a landing area. Cinder followed Team Juniper, intrigued. It didn’t take a very thoughtful inspection to realize why Glynda was suddenly annoyed.

There were reporters, media vehicles just waiting for them.

 _Interesting_ , Cinder thought. Perhaps a source at the Council tipped them off? No one else could know the location of the dropoff point other than Glynda, Team Juniper, Cinder herself and Beacon personnel. From the fact Glynda rarely made publicity stunts, or even accepted interviews, she sincerely doubted it could have been her. Most people who knew about her, or about her work only did due to witnessing it personally. 

Cinder could relate to that. As much as there were many evils she would love to expose, media attention was not something she was fond of, especially when it could put so much of her work in jeopardy. 

Team Juniper didn’t seem to care about the attention either, and Cinder knew Pyrrha most _definitely_ did not leak such information while they were at the tower. Thinking about the champion, she scanned the crowded room, finding her occupied signing some employees fan merch. Pyrrha noticed her staring, and smiled. She was too kind.

“This is going to be a headache,” Glynda sighed the words. “Team Juniper and company! I’ll need you at my side at all times once we step outside. We’ll be leaving last, after the tower personnel, and since we did _not_ schedule any interviews today, we are most definitely not making any statements today. Understood?”

“Understood!” Team Juniper answered in unison.

“I will order the guards to keep them safe. When I return, I expect all of you to be prepared.”

As soon as Glynda was out of earshot, Cinder turned to Nora. She seemed to be the one most willing to let information escape, so the choice was almost second nature, “Any idea why Ms. Goodwitch doesn’t like the press that much?”

Nora shrugged. She didn’t seem as adversarial as she was before, something that gave Cinder some amount of inner peace. “From what I hear? She doesn’t like the way they glorify some things.You know that she’s always acting so mean, right?”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, but she never really did anything bad. She’s always all business, talking about consequences of failing a mission, and how dangerous things can be... The lives we need to protect.”

“It’s definitely a different picture compared to what you see in the TV. Stories of some lone Huntsmen or Huntress that doesn’t care about the rules beating the odds and saving everyone by going rogue and ‘doing what must be done’. Cartoons of those types standing for truth, justice and all of that.”

Nora laughed, amused at the thought of the cheesy cartoons and afternoon shows, “Yeah, all that nonsense,” she looked down for a moment, before tuning to Cinder, re-energized, “You know what I think is funny? I’m pretty sure Glynda wants us to be the opposite of that. Call me cuckoo for cocoa puffs but that’s my opinion.”

The comment piqued Cinder’s curiosity, “Why do you think that?”

Nora brought a finger to her chin, thinking for a few moments before she continued, “You know that a few months ago Cardin wouldn’t stop pestering Jaune, right?”

“Well yeah, it was pretty public,” Cinder bluffed, hoping Nora wouldn’t notice that she didn’t know who this ‘Jaune’ person was. 

“Yeah, Cardin even blackmailed him. But the thing is that he’d always do it when there weren’t any teachers around.”

“He was a coward like that huh?”

“Yeah! And I wanted to break his legs but apparently that’s ‘too much’,” Nora made air quotes as she said the words, “Can you believe it? Anyways, you should’ve seen Glynda’s face when me and Ren walked up to her office with pictures of Cardin bullying Jaune.”

“Was she angry?”

“Hah, more like completely furious. I’m pretty sure Cardin is due to participate in detentions until he graduates. That, and he’s on some sort of probationary program.”

“And that's her way of shaping us?”

“I wouldn’t say it like that, but I think she cares. Yesterday It would be crazy for me to even think about it, but right now I keep asking what would have happened if I hadn’t done what I did. If Glynda hadn’t done anything and I just decided to break Cardin’s Legs just like I wanted to.” 

“From what I hear, it does seem like Cardin kind of deserved it…”

“He did,” Nora moved to the window, staring not at the crowd, but someone else.”I just can’t shake the feeling I would have been like those wannabe huntsmen they cast for those silly tv shows. The type that just says ‘screw the rules, I’ll do what’s right’ then shoots up people in a warehouse or something. That doesn’t think before doing something like that.”

“I think I understand what you’re saying.” Cinder admitted. Nora was much more intelligent than she initially expected, she could respect that, despite the girl making what Cinder would call questionable career choices. “I’m not very fond of those shows either if I’m being entirely honest. In real life, it’s not as simple as shooting one bad guy and walking away to live happily ever after.”

“I know right? They never show that. Those wannabes they glorify, they’d see us starving in the streets and wouldn’t even look twice.” 

Cinder couldn’t say much about that. She knew that Nora didn’t mean her when she said ‘us’, but couldn’t understand how one naive, brutish girl hit the mark so clearly. In that moment she understood her better than the day before, she knew that Nora had been through the same, lived the same.

Perhaps she could extend a hand to the rest of Team Juniper as well.

The airship’s doors opened, reminding Cinder and Nora to rush to Goodwitch’s side. The tower workers were the first to leave, as expected. Despite the guards best efforts, the media still pestered the employees. Cinder couldn’t blame them, not directly. They too were victims of the cycles so many had grown accustomed to, idolizing the ground walked by Huntsmen just for the next headline.

What were they even asking? There wasn’t much to learn from their perspective, and the cameras on every victim were just terribly unnecessary, hadn’t they gone through enough? Now they had to take annoying questions like ‘what was it like’, ‘who saved you’ and other hogwash that made Cinder roll her eyes as she heard it.

Some tried to race towards Glynda, in attempts at catching a rare interview, and in response the teacher used her telekinesis to put up walls, turn their cameras away and outright break the ones belonging to the more persistent ones with minimal effort.

Even when she was her ally, the Huntress was still someone Cinder would rather avoid angering.

“Miss, a word please?” a thoroughly average looking reporter shoved a microphone in Cinder’s face. Before Cinder could decline, he continued, “Are you the one who saved that cat faunus? Do you have any comments?”

What kind of question was that, and what kind of fool was she dealing with? She looked at the victim he pointed at, one of the hostages from the floor she infiltrated. The ridiculous tool in front of her didn’t even know that the woman wasn’t a cat faunus, not that Cinder would have expected mere media to know or care. Not when the man standing in front of her couldn’t have the decency to call the woman what she and many others would prefer to be called instead, a feline faunus.

“She’s a leopard faunus,” Cinder answered, not slowing down her pace in the slightest. Glynda looked back, but did not object. Perhaps this didn’t count as enough of a statement for the teacher to intervene. 

And perhaps Cinder could get away with a little more. She allowed the man to come closer again.

“Wait! Miss! How do you know?” the slimy pest that once again took her kindness for granted invaded her space as he stumbled behind her.

“I asked her,” Cinder answered once more, and this time, from her end, the conversation was done. Perhaps others would take him as an example and stop pestering them.

She moved to Team juniper as they escorted the workers to the assembly. Beacon Had set up emergency tents for the returning teams. At least had a system in place, having the armored guards to more than standing around, they would be the ones to take victims home safely. Team Juniper’s job was done.

Pyrrha turned around, moving backwards as she followed Glynda’s pace, “Whoa, that was intense,” she said as soon as Cinder joined them.

“Was it? I didn’t mean to be,” Cinder said. She genuinely couldn’t tell.

The blonde one whose name kept slipping Cinder’s mind faced them, “Yeah, I almost thought that guy was a goner from the way you were looking at him. I don’t blame you though.”

Had she let her emotions run rampant without noticing? It didn’t matter, she didn’t give it a second thought.

“Everyone,” Ren said, “Team RWBY is here.”

 _Oh my_ , Cinder thought. The one and only, with a silver-eyed leader, the annoying heiress and the ex white fang princess of Menagerie, all within her grasp. Opportunities to gather information like this didn’t come often.

It had to be destiny.

Cinder knew who they were very well. The first one to approach was Ruby Rose, followed by the other three. She was energetic, greeting them all before stopping in front of Cinder.

“Have we met before?” Ruby said, tilting her head as she scoured through her memory.

“Yes, I’m Cinder Fall,” she extended a hand to greet Ruby, “I believe we’ve met before, during Oobleck’s class.”

“Oh yeah,” Ruby said, “I remember now. You know, speaking of Oobleck, he just told us about what you guys did yesterday! I wanna hear all about it!”

“What do you mean?” Pyrrha asked.

“What she means,” Weiss, the heiress, cut in, “Is the news is spreading pretty fast. A group of students liberating a ruin zone from bandits?”

Yang howled with laughter, “He was speechless for at least five minutes, you should have seen his face.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Oobleck slow down,” Blake added, “Let alone stop talking.”

‘I’m pretty sure things are being exaggerated,” Pyrrha said, already she was attempting to curb the rumors. Perhaps the champion had experience with how damaging even supposedly good reputation could be.

Yeah,” the leader of team Juniper said, “Glynda did most of the work, and the bandits were all in the tower.”

 _Wait, is he Jaune, or Juane?,_ Cinder thought.

Yang folded her arms, smiling, “Still, it’s pretty impressive. I mean, we get on the news because we blow a Paladin to smithereens fighting Torchwich, and you all go and one-up us. If I was a little more competitive I’d think you guys are trying to rival us.``

“Oh,” Nora said, “Are you suggesting a rematch?”

“Anywhere, anytime,” Yang answered. So the brawler was cocky too, what a combination.

Weiss groaned, annoyed at her teammates antics, “Anyways, congratulations on your first mission.” she offered them a genuine smile and a curtsy, “We’re moving to ours today. Wish us luck.”

As they said their goodbyes and moved back to their waiting spot, Juane spoke,“Wait! Where is your mission?”

“Mountain Glenn!” Ruby answered as they walked away. For a second, Cinder could swear she saw Ruby's backpack moving on it’s own, until a dog poked his head out of it.

_Was that a corgi?_

***

_“Are you the one who saved that cat faunus? Do you have any comments?”_

_“She’s a leopard faunus.”_

_“Wait! Miss! How do you know?”_

_“I asked her.”_

_“That was the only statement given by a Beacon student after the fact. Twenty four hours after it was declared a ruin zone, Beacon’s anti-disaster measures liberated the Atlas owned tower in the Emerald Forest region.”_

_“What could this mean? Is it a statement of solidarity with those filthy terrorists known as the White Fang?”_

Roman turned off the TV as he let it sink in. He was swamped with work, so many things to manage. Dust crates they had to smuggle, hideouts he had to score, money he had to launder, even Paladins they already had on the way to Mountain Glenn. At that moment he didn’t care about any of that.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, already feeling the massive headache creeping in. Neo looked at him, worried. 

“Neo, dear. I think we’ve got a problem,” he said.

 _A problem I should erase?_ Neo asked, using what limited sign language she knew.

“No, not that kind. I need you to take over things for a while, okay?” he asked. Neo nodded, to his relief.

 _Why?_ She asked.

“You know that psycho Adam is going to lose his shit after this. So I’ll need you on your guard.”

Neo stopped for a moment, thinking, before nodding in agreement again.

“It seems like I’ll personally have to do damage control, as always.”


	7. Intermission - Indiscriminate

**Tabloid Tango**

Neo sat down in front of the TV Roman had left atop the crate as soon as he left. It was far from an elegant rig but it was theirs, and that’s all that mattered to her. 

She understood why it had to be this way with most things they owned. They usually moved a lot, and he only really kept it for the sake of being updated with immediate news. It was the same idea when it came to clothes, weapons, food, and even their money. They always had enough to be presentable, but not so much that they wouldn’t be able to ditch it all and start anew if a situation called for it. 

There was no better example than how they were living at that moment, in an abandoned, dark and possibly dust-residue contaminated subway car. Only reason they hadn’t frozen halfway to death was thanks to Roman installing generators and heaters all over the place.

When it came to news, running them through the latest scandal was nothing a simple scroll couldn’t solve as far as Neo was aware, but Atlesian tracking technology was starting to catch up, and Roman’s contact was only one man, there was no way he could compare to the continuous espionage run by teams. And he had his focus on their inside girl, of course.

At least watching the news scramble after every successful job they pulled was funny.

As commercials ended, Neo shifted her focus away from her thoughts and back to the TV, as the intro of RemCast played, this was likely to be their opinion piece, hosted by a man Neo could only describe as ‘ancient’, who seemed to always wear the same blue suit, and sported the same artificial tan she’d sometimes seen in thirty year old comedy movies, when a character would try to get a tan and set some dial way too high, or too many sprays on the same side.

_“This statement can only mean one thing and it’s an endorsement of the terrorist organization known as the white fang. What else could it mean?”_

_Oh great_ , they were still talking about Cinder. _One quest goes viral and their world stops._ Not only that, but now it was a matter of time until the fire witch came knocking on their door, demanding they fix her mess. Roman was smart to get ahead of that.

_“This is inexcusable! How can Beacon allow for their students to show such support for that inhumane coalition? They must be held responsible for the effects their--”_

Neo changed the channel again, she was in no mood for vitriol this late at night. The next one was CommLink, an old and well-established group from before the CCTS days.

_“--Beacon Academy both employs and accepts more Faunus than any other Academy in Remnant. Could this be an infiltration plot by the White Fang to take over our schools?”_

_Hah, way off_ , Neo thought. It was fun to see them cook up these conspiracy theories though. When the news cast played Cinder’s video, they froze it just before she walked away, slapping over-the-top graphics on the image that read “Beacon’s Finest? Or Vale’s Antagonist?”. It would have made Neo roar with laughter if she could produce any sound. 

She changed the channel again, in time to see the graphics announcing the start of Vale TV’s news program. The shot opened the same way it always did, on a wide shot of the TV set they’d zoom into the news desk, behind which sat none other than Regina Gray, whom if it weren’t for her silver hair, Neo would have erased her from memory entirely. 

_“Most Huntsmen and Huntresses have preferred to stay out of the spotlight when it comes to quests and missions, but today the silence was broken.”_

_How predictable_ , Neo thought. How would they try to spin things this time?

This time it was the same video of Cinder, but shot from a different angle. A very unflattering angle for the other news station, showing how the reporter kept invading her personal space. _So discourteous, they should get reporters with proper etiquette,_ Neo thought to herself _._ That wasn’t the proper way to stalk a mark at all!

_“We spoke with one of many victims of an attempted hostile takeover, rescued by none other than Beacon Academy, her name is Isabella Maranth.”_

The transmission cut to what was either a different set, or the poor woman’s apartment, it was difficult to tell, she was just sitting on a couch, staring into a coffee table. _Lucky them,_ it seemed like they got a hold of the feline faunus Cinder talked about. 

Isabella was an olive skinned brunette. Although she seemed to look fierce by nature, the news crew proved capable of overwhelming her. She was definitely shaken by the incident and yet they didn’t really seem to give it a second thought. The reporter asked her meaningless questions the channel had already covered, but the last one caught Neo’s attention.

“What about the damage caused by the team who rescued you? Do you think they should be held accountable?”

Isabella seemed to be taken by surprise at that. “They fixed it. That Huntress-in-training saved my life. Wherever she is, I’m just here so I can say thank you.”

Neo rolled her eyes at the statement. The fire witch, saving people? _Please_ , it had to be another one of her schemes.

_“Beacon Academy’s anti-disaster measures saved thousands of lives over the decades. Vale’s standards for Hunting are the worldwide model today, save for Atlas. Yet they remain silent on expenses of property damage and--”_

Neo changed the channel again. And again. And another time. Every time, everyone talked about the fire witch. About how much of a threat she was, or about how negligent Beacon was, with no inbetween. 

It stopped being amusing to Neo and it became exciting when she realized Adam Taurus was most likely watching every single one of these, possibly all of them at the same time. The image of that psycho foaming at the mouth was worth a chuckle. Or would he be releasing steam from his ears like a pressure cooker? Oh, what she’d give to be on Roman’s shoes.

Channel surfing eventually landed her on a game show, one where participants had to face off against various Huntsman-themed challenges. Today they had to balance on a tightrope as inflatable cartoonish Grimm were launched towards them, attempting to knock them down into a mud pool. It was named ‘Vale’s Huntsman Warrior’.

_Pass._

Next was a heavily stylized cartoon about Huntresses-in-training getting into inconsequential trouble, ‘Chibi Huntsmen’.

 _Petty good, but pass._ Neo felt like watching something a little more serious, maybe a little vintage, to prepare for the upcoming storm.

The next channel was running ‘Lighthouse Misadventures’ for the upteenth time. It was a black and white attempt at making a show about adventures in Beacon Academy. The episode that day was about a member leaving the party, seemingly forever, so they could face off against a dangerous villain. Emotional, and a huge twist when the character was revealed at the very end to be a Faunus.

Maybe she’d watch this one. Could Neo cook popcorn using the fire dust-residue in the subway cart number seven?

_Only one way to find out._

_***_

**We’ll Make a Better Day, Tomorrow**

The building burned around her, and they still had thirty-two people to rescue, not counting her teammates.

She was in the middle of the third floor, surrounded by smoke and rubble. No windows that could be used as viables escape routes. Too much of her power was keepíng the first and second floor from collapsing in on themselves.

Worse still, there Griffons continued to throw themselves at the already precarious structure as Beowolves were starting to move in, fifty meters west.

Was it caused by poor wiring in an already aging edifice? Was it arson? That would be for the first responders to investigate.

She wasn’t hired for this job. Her team wasn't, and a lot could go wrong with just one mistake, but helping outside the kingdom walls was essential. With Her semblance, Glynda kept the fire from spreading, thirty people from being crushed to death, and Griffons from getting too close to the building.

In the midst of the fire, Glynda molded her power into arrows, aiming at every Griffon she could feel. Her arrows danced through the air, changing direction at sharp angles. She used as much of her power as she possibly could without spreading it too thin, piercing through multiple Grimm at once. One Griffon slipped through, crashing into the side of the building with enough force to make the entire thing rumble. 

Her focus slipped for a moment, and a support beam nearly caved in, threatening to bring the building down with it. She caught herself in time, thankful that Lina was now focusing on finding the last two people. Diana was down, but they still had time to save her after everyone else. Just a few more people and Glynda would even be able to put the fire out.

That is, if they did everything right. 

“Glynda! Keep it together, come on!” She heard Olivia speak through the scroll. She was on command duty this time, trying to evacuate as many people as possible. “We need five more minutes, at least!”

“We have more coming,” Glynda answered. Short and to the point, as she often preferred.

“Numbers?”

“Twelve Beowolves.”

Olivia hesitated for a moment. “Fuck,” was the only answer that came through the scroll. 

Cold gripped Glynda’s heart as she realized that in the heat of the moment she completely forgot to keep track of their locations. Now it was too late, as the building crumbled, she needed to focus more and more on bearing the weight, rather than keeping the structure intact.

On top of everything she had to worry about, it was getting harder to keep the fire from spreading. As if to emphasize her thought, a piece of the ceiling fell right next to her, fanning the already unbearable heat.

“They’re already here, aren’t they?” she asked the meaningless question. Meaningless because Glynda already knew the answer, and only asked because It would be good to hear Olivia’s voice one last time. Maybe she could even patch a quick call to Jimmy, too.

“Yes. They’ve surrounded us,” Olivia answered. Soon after, Glynda heard the fighting sounds. 

She was at her limit, Glynda would have moved, would have run to help her teammate, but even taking a step would take too much of her power to keep the building up. She gritted her teeth and prayed to the gods hoping that her next plan worked, as she let go, just for a moment, to kill every Beowolve at once. 

“Glynda!,” she heard through her scroll as the building collapsed.

 _“Glynda,”_ she heard again, someone else that time.

“Hey, Glynda,” She heard Ann Greene call her, the fellow teacher and Stealth and Security expert.

 _Just a bad dream._ She thought. 

It wasn’t, it was a memory from when the concept of shadowing Huntsmen was nothing but a fantasy, but she preferred to see it as a bad dream. More importantly, she’d fallen asleep in the teacher’s lounge, while sitting at the lunch table. 

“Sorry,” Glynda said, “Long mission, I’m sure you understand.”

Ann smiled at her, “You know I do. So, wanna talk about that ‘program’ you had me look at? I’ve finished the analysis you asked for.”

Ann preferred to simply wear a lab coat on top of her clothes, as well as keeping her dark hair in a bun, both things she carried from Signal and their dress code, most likely.

Glynda took a moment to let the unsteadiness of waking up pass, “Yes, I’d like that. Thank you.”

Ann hurried and took the spot in front of Glynda, her eyes bright with excitement, “You know I’m the one who should be thanking you, right? Do you have any idea how many people would kill for a chance at studying an Atlas AI?”

Glynda cocked an eyebrow at the question, “People would _kill_ to study nowadays? That’s not what I’ve seen in my students.”

Ann sighed, “You know what I mean. She is _literally_ the most advanced program in Beacon right now. I wouldn’t even call her equipment or a program, she’s more like an actual person. She can feel, Glynda. Things like sadness, love, anger, everything we can feel.”

“...That’s not surprising now that I think about it,” Glynda said. The multiple CCTS AI spread across Remnant were known for being very lifelike. Each customized to their local areas, or at least that’s what she heard from the endless commercials and Jimmy’s reports. Not once had she wondered if it could think or feel.

It scared her, to think she could've completely missed a life that needed saving.

“But here’s the thing, she’s not corrupted. I can’t even find any breach to jam her communications. Had to run her in an isolated machine, and just saying that almost breaks my heart, she’s such a nice girl,” Ann said, putting a hand on top of her heart with the usual theatrical flair.

Ann continued as Glynda listened closely, “I took a close look at everything humanly possible. Her current state, the jamming? It’s not a virus or anything like that, it’s a command. She was ordered to delete herself.”

“That’s impossible.”

“Not from where I’m standing. There’s absolutely no way she was jammed by anyone else, and there’s no sign of a foreign program either. And I’m not rusty on my cybersecurity, you know I keep up with that stuff.”

“And you’re sure of this?”

“One-hundred percent.”

Glynda took a deep breath, ignoring the implications the brand new information brought to the table, “Can we do anything to save the AI? Keep her from… you know?”

Ann was puzzled for a moment, before smirking, “You really are a softy, aren’t you?”

Glynda pointed at the expert in front of her, “Shutty...”

Ann pulled a drive from her pocket, the type they could install in Beacon’s computers. “Didn’t know you thought so little of me, Glynda!”

“So dramatic…”

“Hey, now you shut it!”

Glynda took the drive, “So what did you do?”

“I did my best to save what I could, but even I couldn't save every memory. I didn’t pry, so I’ll let you do your work now, but she’ll survive.”

“That’s good, thank you,” Gynda said, as she got up from her chair.

“No problem. Hey, if you need, you know where to find me.”

Glynda moved out of the lounge, drive in hand. As pleasing as a conversation with Ann always was, she didn’t feel much better.

_Jimmy, what the hell are you doing?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you're wondering:  
> [G]lynda  
> [O]livia  
> [L]ina  
> [D]iana


	8. When This Wickedness Consumes Me

Huntsmen and Huntresses were strong. They held too much power, overwhelming power. Some, like Glynda, could avert disasters on their own without batting an eye. Others could kill Grimm for days nonstop, and most even held encyclopedic knowledge.

To think that of all the challenges Huntsmen could pose to Cinder, a party was the biggest one she’d face so far.

What would she even wear? She _could_ tailor any dress she could think of with her semblance, but what was appropriate for the occasion? 

She had a black gown in mind for the student dance, but that wasn’t due until a couple of months from now, and Cinder refused to wear that dress before its time, it was simply too good. She could dress casual, but what if Vale students went to parties in their uniforms? They were in school, and as far as Cinder had seen, when students weren’t dressed in their uniforms, they were using their battle outfits.

She supposed it made sense, in a twisted way. They were meant to grow into warriors after all, it was only expected that they’d be ready to fight at a moment’s notice.

Should she then wear the dress she usually did for battle? There was a chance that could be seen as poor form, especially when they were meant to celebrate success today. To show up to a celebration dressed like she was expecting a fight to break out wasn’t something that seemed like anything resembling manners.

Then again, to show up dressed like a civilian, something they were most certainly not, could also send a different message.

Above all, she could not ruin her image with Pyrrha. It wouldn’t do to attend a meaningful event inadequately, Cinder would need to be out of her mind if she ever dared considering something of the kind. When she started a mission, she finished it, and looking good was something of a skill she liked to nurture..

 _Perhaps,_ just maybe, there was a chance she was overthinking it.

Looking out the window, as much she hoped it would elucidate her with some sort of celestial revelation, did nothing to reveal anything other than the obvious to her. The moon still lit up the night, as it always did, the nearby tide still crashed below the precipice near Beacon, and cicadas outside were still as annoying as ever.

It was better to make an uninformed decision than no decision at all. Cinder decided on a skort with a pair of boots and a long sleeved shirt. She would have used a skirt instead, but if for some reason she had to fight, Cinder wouldn’t have to worry about a skirt being impractical, or about violating Beacon’s dress code, not that it was in any way strict, or even much of a code at all. At least having students to be outfitted with uniforms while toting uniqueness wasn’t something enforced by Ozpin, a droplet of decency in the sea of antagonism the man was capable of.

And she couldn't forget, that day at midnight Salem would want to talk with her again, like she always did. Cinder was prepared this time, but it was important to keep it in mind, for when the time was right. 

There was so much to explain, given how Pyrrha wasn’t at her side yet, but it was close, Salem would understand later. She had to understand, even if it took hiding the plan to bring Pyrrha to their side.

If Salem couldn’t grasp the value of powerful allies, then how would she even have chosen Cinder in the first place?

Taking her scroll, she typed out a message to Pyrrha, hoping it wasn’t too late already.

**[Private Message 18:30 PM] Cinder Fall**

_I am ready to attend the party. What is your dorm room?_

**[Private Message 18:30 PM] Pyrrha Nikos**

_Hi!, it’s room 343, central doms :)_

**[Private Message 18:31 PM] Cinder Fall**

_Thank you. I am on my way._

**[Private Message 18:32 PM] Pyrrha Nikos**

_You can take your time! Team RWBY had that last-minute quest of theirs, so it’s just us and CFVY instead._

**[Private Message 18:33 PM] Cinder Fall**

_I would hate to be late_

Pyrrha sent another message, yet Cinder was forced to ignore it when a notification from the program Watts had installed in her new scroll took up the entire screen. It was inconvenient even in the best of lights, she’d need to have _another_ talk with Watts about user-friendly interfaces.

It was just the kind of thing she’d have to endure for now, since she had a brand new scroll, and no excuse to stay offline.

**[18:33 PM] Clockwork Clamjam**

.... --- .-- / -.. --- / .. / ..- ... . / - .... .. ... / .- --. .- .. -. ..--.. / -. . --- --..-- / .... . -.-- --..-- / .- .-. . / -.-- --- ..- / - .... . .-. . ..--.. / .. / -.-. .- -. .----. - / ..-. .. --. ..- .-. . / --- ..- - / - .... . / --. --- -.. -.. .- -- -. / ... -.-. .-. --- .-.. .-.. -....-

The message erased itself ten seconds after she finished reading it, as it should. This was the only way they could avoid being tracked or spied, and even then, it took all of Watts’s effort to keep up with Atlas and their monitoring.

**[18:34 PM] Dark, Tall, and too hot for you**

_You don’t need to use coded language in this version, it’s why we’re using it_

**[18:34 PM] Clockwork Clamjam**

Finally. I need your help.

**[18:35 PM] Dark, Tall, and too hot for you**

_You need even more help? Paladins and White fang aren’t enough to get a job done? I thought I’d hired the best in Vale. Was I wrong in thinking you were useful?_

**[18:36 PM] Clockwork Clamjam**

_Of course not! I’m only asking for your help because of that psycho, Adam._

**[18:36 PM] Dark, Tall, and too hot for you**

_What did he do?_

**[18:37 PM] Clockwork Clamjam**

_It's what he’s about to do that worries me. I know you have a plan, but I’m pretty sure he’s seen the news by now, and you know him. Short fuse and all that._

Of course Adam had seen it. Cinder hoped, for once, that Vale media would get something of importance to report on, but from what Roman had to say it seemed like misplaced optimism. 

She’d be lying to herself if she thought it didn’t annoy her. Regardless of the inevitable misstep here and there, she could have dealt with something as small as the fallout from a couple of news stations, Perhaps even ignore it completely.

But who was she kidding, some problems simply had an affinity to growing progressively worse, even without any outside input.

For once, Beacon’s obligatory post-quest paperwork was a positive, making it so Cinder didn’t have the energy to deal with the news smearing her image even days after the quest itself. She’d seen the rough summary of it, but hadn’t had the time to properly study how she’d crush them when documents regarding liabilities, non-disclosure agreements, confirmations of property damage and all of its subsequent reports made sure she hadn’t gathered enough intel, or planned a way to pool resources. 

Interestingly enough, however, was the higher-ups at Atlas and their attempts to bill repair from property damage caused by the so-called ‘bandits” on Team Juniper. Chances were, it was their way of trying to undermine Vale security. Having first-hand information like this was certainly a meaningful perk of having access to Beacon, and it did make Watts stop pestering her.

If anything, Atlas’s constant occupation attempts were getting bolder, she had to give them that.

Cinder briefly wondered how Pyrrha felt, taking into consideration how she took most of the paperwork, hopefully it was the kind of busywork that became easier with practice.

**[18:38 PM] Dark, Tall, and too hot for you**

_Did he contact you?_

**[18:39 PM] Clockwork Clamjam**

_Not yet, and that’s what I’m worried about. Before he goes ballistic on me I want to call a meeting._

**[18:40 PM] Dark, Tall, and too hot for you**

_So you’d like me to save your skin in person then? Again?_

**[18:40 PM] Clockwork Clamjam**

_Not the way I’d phrase it. We need to cooperate, don’t we? I can’t exactly do my job if one of my “allies” could be coming for my head._

It was understandable, though Cinder wasn’t foolish enough to not think about it twice. As far as she trusted Roman, she was well aware that this could be a trap. His attempt to cut her, as she was a loose end. He could be calling for a meeting so he and Adam would get a chance to attack her together. 

She considered it further, Roman was charismatic enough to make strange allies, but Adam only allied with humans out of convenience. Something that held the White Fang back, as Cinder had mentally noted a thousand times before. If she wanted to fight for faunus, he’d have to be dealt with.

Were those two allied against her? Unlikely, but Cinder could deal with them if they were, she had safeguards. Emerald and Mercury would be at their most useful if she found the need to deal with the thief.

**[18:42 PM] Dark, Tall, and too hot for you**

_Growing fearful? We’ll meet near Mountain Glenn. Two days. I’ll choose the place_

**[18:40 PM] Clockwork Clamjam**

_I’ll make preparations. By the way, do you know if fire dust residue can be used to cook popcorn?_

That was as far as the conversation needed to go, she wouldn’t dignify that with a retort. For now, Cinder had someone else to answer

**[Private Message 18:33 PM] Pyrrha Nikos**

_See you soon! Can’t wait to see you again! S2_

As the message brought a smile to Cinder’s face, for a brief second it was accompanied by something, she couldn’t tell what, striking her like a punch to the gut. What did she feel? Guilty?

What was she feeling guilty for? She should be happy, with just a little more work, a little more trust, Pyrrha would join them. She’d see how wrong Huntsmen are, how careless, apathetic, alienated and merciless their path was. Pyrrha had to see it, she was supposed to be Mistral's champion after all.

No, it couldn’t be guilt. It most definitely wasn’t. There was a chance she worried that Salem would catch on to her plan, and discard it as easily as she did last time, that must have been it. Taking care of that would simply demand a little more caution, accepting fewer risks to make sure her story was bulletproof.

Walking out of her dorm room, Cinder locked the door behind her. Immediately, a chill ran up her spine. Someone was waiting outside, and it seemed to be the one and only Glynda Goodwitch, looking for someone.

 _Better stay out of her way._ Cinder pretended not to notice the teacher, walking away.

“Ms Fall,” Glynda’s voice echoed, nearly stopping Cinder’s heart. Had she slipped up somewhere? Had the combat instructor finally recognized her from the brief encounter near a dust shop months ago?

Glynda took the pause as a cue to continue, “A moment, please. There are matters I need to discuss with you.”

 _Matters_. Most definitely not ominous, but the teacher didn’t seem to be prepared for battle. When she looked through the hallway, her green eyes peering straight through the dark, weariness marking her face, Cinder wasn’t so sure she should be cautious of the combat instructor at that specific point in time.

Still, it was hard not to wish she’d taken Midnight with her. How helpful it would be was doubtful, but at least the weapon would have given her some sense of security, however small it would’ve been. Against Glynda things like flesh, bone and spirit would not be enough to survive.

To keep her composure, Cinder chose her words carefully, “Was I not up to protocol last quest?”

Glynda shook her head, to assuage in the best way she could, “You were perfect. It’s other recent events that bring me here.”

 _Other events_ , at least her choice of words made it obvious. Of course nearly everyone who bothered with dialogue would want to talk about it. “You mean the media.”

“Not quite. That’s for later.”

“Then...”

For a brief moment, Glynda’s expression shifted, before she returned to her usual, stoic self, “When you abandoned camp during the quest, why did you do it, Cinder?”

As prepared as Cinder could try to make herself, the comment caught her off-guard, “What do you mean?” Cinder took a step back, out of instinct. Had Glynda finally connected the dots, seen through her disguise? She waited another moment for the teacher to start attacking. 

Uncaring, or perhaps too confident to see Cinder as a threat, the teacher cut through the silence again, “Even though your performance was flawless, I cannot ignore the signs I see. Do you have anything you’d like to tell me?”

Backing herself to the wall, Cinder could barely breathe. It made keeping her composure many times harder, taking all her will just to utter even a syllable without shaking, “I… I’m…”

‘I see. I’ll be direct then,” Glynda said, approaching a couple of steps. “It’s my responsibility as a Teacher and a Huntress.”

Cinder didn’t answer, at that point she’d only be digging herself further. Her left arm ached, carrying the fragment of power to her fingertips, forcing Cinder to repress it even as the parasite’s instincts screamed at her to attack. She knew better.

“Are any students giving you trouble?”

_What?_

“What?” Cinder asked, mirroring her surprised thought.

“There were problematic students in the past, I’m sure you’re aware,” Glynda stated in a matter-of-fact way. Of course Cinder knew about it, although she couldn’t remember who was involved the last time, their names didn’t seem to matter at that moment.

_Oh, so the Goodwitch had a soft spot for her students?_

Glynda resumed, with same seriousness expected of someone investigating a murder, “We dealt with it using the disciplinary methods expected, it _won’t_ repeat itself.”

 _Definitely not._ She was a fool for thinking otherwise, even if only for a second.

She looked away from the teacher for a moment, a good opportunity to feign weakness. It was important to give up some metaphorical ground, pretend she deferred to her authority, as it would be expected of a student. In a more favorable situation she would play the victim too, but it would be meaningless with no one to blame, “No student is harassing me, if that’s what you’re asking, I just live with anxiety”

“Still, I want you to know you’re not alone, even if Haven didn’t consider making that a little less literal when they requested you to be transferred to this specific wing.”

Why did Glynda even bother querying in person? Ambushing a student in a hallway to ask about their well-being couldn’t have been her first choice. She had an office, and there was a Teacher’s room after all, summoning a student wasn’t a difficult task. 

There was no chance in remnant that Glynda Goodwitch could simply be worried about a random student who was the latest target of tabloid grift. It would require more emotion, more empathy than a Huntsman was capable of. There was simply no way she genuinely _cared_.

When the chance to inquire presented itself to Cinder, staying quiet suddenly felt like less of a survival tactic and more of a suggestion, she could take the opportunity then and there, “I understand, Ms Goodwitch. Will Beacon help me then? Given how so many news stations placed a target on my back?”

Glynda, as if readying to inform someone of a tragic accident, took a deep breath, “I hoped it would simply go away, but it seems I was too optimistic. Beacon will do take these matters onto our hands then.”

That was an interesting way to put it.

Glynda continued, “Given their reckless approach, the Headmaster found it necessary to give you space. We could arrange to have you speak at a show of his choosing, but you’d need to talk to him first. Personally.”

“I’ll be there,” Cinder said, before she realized what she was agreeing to. Her instincts got the better of her, but the moment after made her thankful for it, when she realized how valuable this could be. Getting them to trust her even more was worth it, without a shadow of a doubt.

It was just a matter of hiding any killing intent. Or hacking intent. Or spying intent. To be safe, she preferred to think of it as a matter of hiding everything and putting on a mask, leave _Cinder_ at the dorm and take “Ms. Fall” to the meeting.

Glynda paused for a second, surprised, “I see. You can have your chance today then. We’ll be expecting you in the Headmaster’s office today, at midnight.”

Midnight, same time as Salem would be expecting. Of course nothing could come this easily to her.

That was a problem for future Cinder to solve. Present Cinder had places to be.

***

“So, Team RWBY had a last-minute quest huh?” Coco asked Pyrra, leaning forward on the windowsill next to her as she opened her can of soda. She had thankfully ditched the glasses as soon as it was dark, but preferred to stare out the window as she talked.

Pyrrha heard the question and nodded along, but to say she was listening would be stretching it too far. Cinder said she’d be there half an hour ago. Maybe she gave up on the party, she didn’t seem the very social type anyway.

Had Pyrrha scared her away, like she usually did with most people? She thought taking most of the paperwork would have helped, maybe she should have done some with Cinder, at least they’d get to see each other for a little more. 

And she couldn’t think about Cinder without thinking of their kiss. It was wonderful, tender and not the least bit below her already high expectations. Just thinking about it and everything that happened next was enough to make heat spread to her face.

“Thinking about someone?” Coco asked, smirking. 

The question immediately snapped Pyrrha back to the present, “What? No, I’m just… thinking, that’s all.”

“Right. You know you have a terrible poker face?””

“I’m just worried, you know?” Pyrrha confessed.

“I can see that. What’s worrying you?” Coco asked, nonchalant, before taking a sip of her soda.

“ _Who’s_ worrying me. I invited Cinder and she said she was coming thirty minutes ago. Do you think something happened?”

Seemingly unfazed, Coco put a hand to her chin, thinking, “Cinder, Cinder… Oh I remember, she went on a recon quest with you right?”

“Yeah. The news hasn’t been very kind to her since that.” 

“That’s putting it lightly. Did you see the whole White Fang conspiracy thing they have going on at CommLink? I’m sure you’ve dealt with the same thing before, right?”

“Not really, Pumpkin Pete’s had the whole public relations thing covered for me. Most I’ve ever had to do is sign some merch and participate in some morning talk shows.”

Coco took another sip, still as calm as ever, “I see. Is that why you’re worried?”

“I don’t know,” Pyrrha answered. 

Pyrrha let the question sit in her mind, maybe it was, and she just hadn’t allowed herself to think about it yet. It was too easy to fall into that same mental trick over and over again, where she pushed some worries out of sight, then out of mind. It happened when she’d ignore how none of the other girls back in Sanctum ever wanted to have lunch together, study, or even hang out. Couldn’t be a part of any team in physical education, because the other would complain it was unfair. Couldn’t participate in group projects, because teachers deemed it to be akin to cheating for the rest of the group. She was even kept from joining the theatre class, on grounds that her presence was too strong, even as an extra. The only thing she was ever allowed to do was fight, so she did it, and soon enough it became the only thing that made her feel like she was walking towards a good future, a path she finally belonged to, in a way. Fighting and staying an outsider was her destiny, and a struggle against it would only be a part of said fate.

_Of course anything else would just be another road closed for me._

She overheard Velvet talking to Nora, “You know, I’m impressed Ozpin let you guys do this, we just usually go to ScarLobsta for their cheddar biscuits when we come back from a quest.”

Nora nearly choked on her pancake for a second, “Yeah… Yeah, Ozpin is really cool, we totally got his permission, right Jaune?”

Jaune, who unfortunately happened to have his mouth full, couldn’t utter much more than a few indistinct sounds. Nora took her chance, “Yeah, see? Anyways, so tell me more about that camera of yours, can you capture any kind of semblance?”

It brought a smile to her face, but Pyrrha let their talk fade into background noise. Ren was busy cooking, still frustrated that he would never get a culinary rematch with Yang. Yatsuhashi was at least trying to give him a challenge, and his food wasn’t bad if Pyrrha had to admit it. Fox seemed content on hearing Jaune talk about some of his comic books, not a surprise, given how he wouldn’t be able to read them. 

Coco watched them with her, as Fox answered something Jaune had said, “What? What do you mean Olivia’s Garden is better than Scarlobsta?”

“I mean, not them, but the breadsticks are really good,” Jaune said.

“They’re bread jerky! I don’t even like Scarlobsta and I’ll go there just for the cheddar biscuits!”

Coco laughed at their discussion, but try as she might, Pyrrha couldn’t smile after following where her thoughts led her. Could she even imagine Cinder there, at that moment? She seemed to have warmed up to Nora, or perhaps it was the other way around. Not that it was impossible for her teammate to warm up to other people, it was just the circumstances back then. They would likely make good friends, given time. 

Cinder had left the camp that day because she had the same condition as Nora, hadn’t she? There was a non-zero chance Nora could talk to her some more, help her live with the night terrors, and it wasn’t because there was a trick or a cure for something like that, but sometimes there didn’t need to be one, just enough company.

If Nora would open up then maybe Ren would too. Cinder was as cautious and rational as Ren, and Pyrrha knew that in Ren’s case, it was because he cared. Cinder was likely the same.

Jaune was always so friendly, so open, he could likely befriend anyone for a lifetime.

So she was the last one left. Could Pyrrha see herself with Cinder? She wanted to, no doubt, but what about Cinder herself? Had she one-upped someone again, driven them away? Maybe Cinder didn’t want to be with her...

“So,” Coco once again broke the silence, “Is Cinder the reason you went shopping for new clothes?”

“Hm? How did you know?”

“Well, for starters you asked me where I buy mine, and next time I see you you’re like a walking Magnolia line model. Then there’s the fact you’ve got the look right now.”

“What look?”

Coco put her right hand to her hip, then pointed at Pyrrha with the one that held the soda can, “ _The_ look. The one where it seems a lot like you’re thinking about someone. You’re staring right through the wall, not at it, so unless I got a terrible read and should be worrying about reporting shellshock...” 

“You got it right, okay? I overthink stuff, that’s all. Can we talk about something else?”

"Oh well, we can, but I’d hate to make you keep her waiting,” Coco said, pointing at the door.

Pyrrha never heard the doorbell, neither did she hear anyone knock, but apparently Nora heard, and answered the door for them. Standing outside was Cinder, looking as gorgeous as Pyrrha remembered her in the CCTS tower. To see her in person again was far more precious than the memory. As heat flooded her face once more, a big smile slipping past her defenses, she couldn’t waste any time before hugging Cinder again.

Cinder was surprised for a moment, before hugging her back, “Well, hello again.”

“I was waiting for you,” Pyrrha said as she let go, afraid she’d hugged a little too hard.

“Ms Goodwitch ambushed me in the hall, sorry.”

“It’s okay, let’s introduce you to everyone!”

Although Cinder had met most of Team Juniper before, Pyrrha hadn’t exactly expected her to get along with Team Coffee so well. As it turned out, both Cinder and Coco favored the same women’s clothing store, Velvet and Yatsu both liked her statement on TV, as divided as the subject was, and Fox didn’t seem to care either way. Regardless of who liked and thought what, it was a breath of fresh air to just have her there with them.

How stupid of her, to think that destiny and fate would do something like closing this road for her too. 

When was she last able to enjoy company like this? Pyrrha didn’t have any memory of it. To sit, watch movies, eat and drink with someone she liked as more than just a friend? Among friends? To not worry about Pumpkin Pete’s, about the next mission, about how the media kept trying to make Cinder look like a villain. It made her heart leap.

And it formed a pit in her stomach too.

“You’ve been... quiet all night,” Cinder said, piercing through the silence. Less a question and more of a statement, an invitation.

It worked too, since most of Team Coffee had left a while ago, and it was already ten minutes to midnight. Everyone else was taking out the trash, taking baths before bed, or in Nora’s case, snoring in bed after laying down for one minute. Pyrrha had moved to the fridge, looking for the last tub of ice cream in her secret stash, but she accepted an excuse to talk some more, “I’m enjoying everything, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“In a way, I suppose. You were right about _Matsuri_ , it does help ward off the stress.”

Pyrrha chuckled once, “When you think about, it’s just a post-quest party, but that’s what it’s supposed to do. It’s something to look forward to, next time we go out on a quest.”

“Next time?” Cinder asked.

“Well yeah, right? You don’t have a team, and they’ve already let you go with us to one quest. Should be okay from now on.”

“Yes, it should.”

Pyrrha looked at Cinder again. It was calming, entrancing and joyful, regardless of where she was or what she was doing. Perhaps it was familiarity starting to set in, she’d heard conversations about how other people felt when they talked about being with someone.

“Do we really need to wait for another quest to do this?” Pyrrha asked.

Cinder looked puzzled for a second, “Hm?”

“To be together.”

Cinder smiled, “Of course not, We can meet any time, right? And you have my phone number.”

“Yeah,” Pyrrha laughed, thinking about it, “Yeah, you’re right.”

Cinder didn’t say anything, instead preferring to let Pyrrha pour her words in between them, something she desperately needed that night, “I just… I just want to get to know you better. Quests, everything about Beacon can get in the way sometimes.”

“And I want to know you too,” Cinder said as she took her hands, then leaned forward to kiss Pyrrha.

For a second, and only a split second, Pyrrha felt the urge to dodge. Not lean back, or avoid, but the combat instinct surfaced from deep within. She suppressed it, because following through would be outrageous.

But why did she feel it?

Cinder was the one to pull away first, tucking her hair behind one ear, “I need to go, it’s almost midnight. See you tomorrow?”

Pyrrha put on her best smile, despite how bewildered she was at herself, “Yeah, see you tomorrow!”

Pondering about it for minutes, Pyrrha knew she wouldn’t come to a gratifying conclusion. She was too tired to talk herself into a corner again, however. Taking a deep breath, she pushed her concerns out of her mind, and smiled again.

“Nora, I know you’re not sleeping” She tested.

“Can you blame me?” Nora answered, much to her dismay, “So when are the two lovebirds meeting again?”

_***_

Cinder had a choice to make. One one hand she could meet with the Headmaster, dig herself deeper into Beacon, and possibly acquire even more trust while simultaneously silencing the media that attacked her. On the other, she had to make sure Salem didn’t suspect her current position, for the good of their plan, of course. She was only doing what Salem would wish, after all.

Both managed to have the courtesy to happen simultaneously, because if things could be simple for once, then she wouldn’t be where she was, having to act.

_Now, where to?_

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you're wondering:
> 
> "[18:33 PM] Clockwork Clamjam  
> HOW DO I USE THIS AGAIN? NEO, HEY, ARE YOU THERE? I CAN'T FIGURE OUT THE GODDAMN SCROLL-"


	9. Fragments

The Beacon tower could’ve been useful if it had a clock. It was in the perfect location, and yet it seemed as if nobody had thought of it.

No matter, Cinder was sure she had arrived on time, otherwise she expected Glynda to reprimand her. Only someone like Ozpin would be as uncharitable as to schedule a meeting in the dead of night, and one in the middle courtyard to boot, meaning they’d need to go through the teacher’s lounge. 

_Shouldn’t they encourage their students to have a healthy sleep cycle?_ Not that Cinder had one, in fact most of her obligations outside homework had to take place at night, but still, it’s not like they knew about any of it.

Perhaps it was intentional. To what end, she couldn’t tell, It was always difficult with the scheming types. She’d need to read him and think ahead, make assumptions with second hand information, she could’ve simply ignored the call entirely, yet it would almost definitely have made her look worse, or at least suspicious.

 _Not worth the risk._ She had a plan in mind for this. If she could earn some trust today, then come the Vale Festival it would be that much easier to have someone like Neopolitan wreaking havoc.

As Glynda moved across the hall, Cinder following behind, atlesian soldiers who served as guards stopped and saluted, one by one. She didn’t utter a single word, preferring to move silently with her back straight and her chin high, the cloak flowing behind her. The respect her presence commanded was obvious. It was the rewards, or perhaps the consequence of cultivating such power in a single person.

The air of valor that she carried, the respect inspired by her presence, it felt so out of reach.

They were in the teacher's lounge, a room large enough to serve the purpose of an auditorium, altered to serve practical Hunting functions. Some blackboards that had seen decades of use still had detailed attack plans, hastily put together schematics for weapons, dust equations, Grimm notes, hunting shifts. Some Grimm ecology notes were wrong, specifically the ones that attempted to understand the biology of Grimm, but they were still close enough to be useful for what she knew a huntsman needed, for efficient disabling and killing. 

_“It’s a war against vale!”_ The only television in the room replayed that night’s news broadcast. _“This one student comes out of nowhere, doesn’t seem to have a team, and is suddenly working with big names like Goodwitch? The only possible way to explain this is that either the girl has a manipulation semblance, or she’s a moon-dweller, come to breed chaos among men!”_ Glynda waved her crop and the television clicked off, prompting annoyed grunts from nearby. 

The tables being used were not too different from the wooden cafeteria tables. Sitting at them were Professor Harold--the Weapon Crafting and Upkeep professor--removing bullets from Professor Ann’s arm. How Ann didn’t flinch or scream in pain was beyond understanding, and if the pile small of bloodstained towels proved anything was that it had been going for an unreasonable amount of time. Just as she processed the image, Professor Port joined the two with a surgical kit and several towels in hand.

So much sacrifice, so many of them had seen the abyss of death and returned to tell the tale. It didn’t seem to faze Glynda in the slightest. Some time ago, they would have been students like Pyrrha or Nora, filled with smiles, hopes and dreams. Did they believe there was something good to hold to? What reason kept them hanging on?

Why did they serve Ozpin?

They moved to the middle courtyard, only accessible through the teacher’s lounge. It was likely a place for rest, where the cold stone floor gave way to shamrock-green grass, many different blossoms, bird feeders and a simple fountain at the center, where water flowed out at a steady rate. Try as she might to ignore it, to focus, Cinder understood the choice. Sometimes taking care of such things was therapeutic.

Ozpin awaited her near the center, occupied with something on a tablet-sized scroll, and he had his back foolishly turned to them. 

Could she have taken the chance to slay him then and there, once and for all? Before meeting him in person, Cinder wouldn’t have doubted herself, but she was no fool. One word, one order from him and she’d be lucky to last seconds.

Strangely enough, the only thing that kept her from running back to her dorm room was Glynda. The professor stood next to her, and despite the fact that the Headmaster outranked her the combat instructor still seemed to be the one truly in charge. 

_Why Ozpin? Isn’t it obvious? So many people worship these Huntsmen, for all their power. Still, what do they actually do?_ A memory, the familiar, soothing voice echoed from the recesses of her mind.

As they approached the Headmaster, Glynda stopped, prompting Cinder to do the same. 

Ozpin turned his head slightly, still avoiding facing them, “Ms Fall. I’d much rather call you to my office, but as you can see we’re currently dealing with so many crises at the time,” even if his tone was soft, it was easy to see the traits Salem had described.

“I can understand why,” Cinder answered, monotone. She couldn't, at the time her willpower was entirely dedicated to keeping her from attacking Ozpin when there were so many secrets still kept hidden, out of sight behind their veil of hunting.

He turned around, collapsing the tablet scroll, “Good. To get to the matters at hand, I’m aware of the current… problem regarding your previous mission. Don’t worry, you’re not in danger of being expelled.”

 _Ah, expelled_. That was something students had to worry about, Cinder nearly forgot. Given the knowledge that Atlas was running false flag operations in vale, perhaps somewhere deep inside she expected it to be brought up. 

“On the contrary,” he continued, “We think your performance was exemplary. Some seem to disagree though.”

 _Cinder, Honey, they’re only smoke and mirrors. When you needed help, were any of them there for you?_ Another echo broke into the privacy of her wits.

“I’m _well_ aware of that,” Cinder retorted, ignoring courtesies altogether.

“I’m sure you are. And although I’m familiar with how things are done in Haven, here in Beacon we like to nurture the independence of our Huntsmen and Huntresses.” 

For a moment, she wondered if he knew how much that independence cost everyone, “What does that even mean?”

“It means you have a choice, Ms Fall. More than one, considering how you’re the center of some controversies. Of course every one of these options comes with further, _secret_ intel, should you accept them.”

“What if I can’t make a choice?” Cinder asked.

“Then we will simply have to choose in your place. For your academic needs, of course. Your team is short three members after all.”

He let the words hang in the air. Too ambiguous to tell if he knew or not, and Cinder hated every second of it.

”Of course,” she answered, “And the first choice is?”

“Leave it to us. We can’t control the media but we can apply some pressure. It would help us get rid of the conspiracy theories at least.”

Glynda chuckled, “As if one of our students was a half grimm, half human hybrid.”

 _Yeah, as if- wait._ Was that another conspiracy theory?

“Indeed,” Ozpin continued, treating Glynda’s remark as part of his own, “I can’t in good faith promise it would undo the damage, but at least it would make it stop. All we’d need is for you to forgo a few missions for now, a couple of months worth at best.”

He stared at her, waiting for an answer. The facade of some benevolent wise old headmaster didn’t fool her, she knew that underneath the mask laid quite the opposite, the man could and would do anything within his grasp to keep power.

“But, won’t that put me behind the other students? And how does it make it all stop?” Cinder tested. She knew they likely had a plan, and digging out as much as she could was now a matter of survival, and if she could evade the option under the veneer of concern, all the better.

“We predict they’ll have moved on within that timeframe. Although of course, Professor Goodwitch is prepared to provide the appropriate academic exercises in the meantime.”

Ozpin wasn’t budging, it was insanity. Even for a normal student it would be far from good, the others would see it as favoritism, and less missions meant less information. It meant more time away from Pyrrha and Team Juniper. It was akin to being disarmed. “And the other choice?” Cinder asked.

“We’ll arrange an Interview, live on air with Commlink. They’ve been rather aggressive, so much so that given the timing we believe an uptick in Grimm numbers near the Mountain Glenn area is thanks to their broadcasts affecting the public. Well, that and a sharp increase in telescope sales and UFO sightings,” the headmaster finished.

Just as Cinder opened her mouth to speak, he continued, cavalier “We’ve prepared a dossier, enough information so that an interview would be trivial.”

An interview. More chances to have them take her words and twist them, more chances to make mistakes, reveal too much. Was it a part of his plan, whatever that was?

“So it’ll be scripted?” Cinder asked, to give herself more time to think.

“Not so. With the intel we have, it is possible to predict the questions you will be asked with somewhere around ninety-nine percent accuracy. This endeavor could even leave them worse for wear, publicly shamed, if only for a while.”

Would a student even choose that, if they had the chance? Cinder knew she would, to make them pay for the smear campaign, but what about Nora, or Pyrrha? The warriors were so much like her in some ways, and so different in others, but perhaps there was a lesson to be learned in them.

“And those are my only options?”

“There is a third option, something of a middle ground. With the Vytal festival drawing so close, there are some who believe we can’t protect ourselves. You will shadow Professor Goodwitch on her missions and we will follow, ready to film footage of our own.”

Glynda pursed her lips as she looked at Opzin, “We’ve always preferred action after all.”

Cinder almost accepted immediately. Earning more trust was within her plans. In a way, being trusted by Glynda could bring her closer to the maiden, closer to the relic, all without the need for a fight. Would it take a few months, maybe a year more than previously planned? Perhaps, but plans rarely survived contact with the enemy.

However, having her every move filmed? Insanity. As much as it would rid her of the annoyance of current events and further her goals in a single step, it had to be a macabre trap. Remembering to keep the student facade, she maintained her demeanor by a hair. 

“Pardon me, but I thought Professor Goodwitch preferred to stay out of the spotlight? I’m not sure how I feel moving her into this.”

Glynda folded her arms, shifting her weight as she looked at Cinder, “I dislike it for many practical reasons. However I also despise how things escalated so far. I can’t stand seeing a student of mine being cast as some sort of villain.”

The Professor’s opinions on the matter were definitely meant to soothe, yet it made things worse. Did Cinder want to have even more eyes on her, as well as a debt to Glynda Goodwitch?.

She eyed Glynda one more time before answering. She couldn’t see a way out of it, “Those are all the choices I have? It all feels so… limited.”

“It is what we’ve gathered. Rest assured, every one of these options was tailored for maximum possible efficiency.”

It took a lot more time Cinder would have expected herself to take making such a choice. Moments extended to minutes, before she understood. Perhaps there was a different choice to be made.

“What if I followed Team Juniper instead? If they agree, of course. That way I won’t interfere with anyone’s Hunting.” As Cinder finished the sentence, Ozpin looked at Glynda, who seemed mildly surprised at the suggestion.

“Well... I suppose there are some missions we can assign you inside the City of Vale. That would be less risky, so it wouldn’t require you shadow a Huntress. We’ll talk with Team Juniper.”

“Ms Fall, do you understand you wouldn’t have our resources if you do? Access to airships, intelligence, or contacts? This could be dangerous in its own way.”

It was a downside, but an expected one, and Cinder could turn it into an advantage. No other student ever had access to these things, it would raise eyebrows if she had it, regardless if it was offered or not. Maybe not that day, or the day after, and perhaps not among the staff but in the form of rumors circulating from student to student. It would almost definitely go against her mission.

And when she thought about it, perhaps there was one way to sway Glynda’s opinion. The right words chosen at the right time could make a world of difference. “I think I can work with that. The past mission coupled with this, It’s overwhelming,” Cinder crossed her arms and shrunk into herself. Perhaps the act would hit Goodwitch’s weak spot.

Upon hearing the words, the professor’s look softened. It seemed the stone-faced expression wasn’t her default after all, yet before she could speak her mind the headmaster interjected.

“Then I believe this is settled. Once again, Ms Fall, for Beacon Academy I apologize for the inconvenience, and thank you for your cooperation.”

Cinder hesitated before walking back into the teacher’s room, “It wasn’t a problem.”

_“This girl is nothing but trouble. Everything about her fulfils the requirements for thorough investigation. Her demeanor, her appearance, It all speaks of evil. Primordial evil from before the time of man, that girl is an agent of the antagonist, a harbinger of chaos, an omen of violence, a forerunner of eradication! She wants to dismantle the very fabric of our society, I say!”_

Professors Port and Ann’s laughter echoed through the room, “What a clown!” Ann said, “I can’t believe It!” 

Cinder refused to dignify the news segment with a single word as she stormed out.

*******

“That was cold, Ozpin.”

“I believe we both know it was necessary,” The Headmaster answered as he opened the tablet scroll again, somber and exhausted from what they were about to do.

What would she even have told Pyrrha, or the rest of Team Juniper?

Thankfully they didn’t have to act on anything, Glynda wasn’t sure she’d be able to sleep if they carried on with the plan, “No, it was anything but necessary. Or you’re going to tell me you would’ve _ventilated_ a student if she agreed to any of that?”

As the scroll went back online, the AI from the tower took the time to materialize a hologram again. She had chosen her own name--Dot--and after Ann’s check-up wore clothes of her choosing, a black pencil skirt and a white blouse. Glynda suspected she knew where the program got her inspiration from, even if the short black hair ultimately distinguished both significantly. At least the AI was happy now.

Ozpin answered the question a little too soon, “It was a test, specifically designed to lure an infiltrator. We both know that’s a legitimate concern, and students know better than to accept covert deals.”

Glynda’s mouth curled into a frown, “Yeah well, you know what else is a legitimate concern? The thirty stealth gunners pointing to this place right now. Dot, tell them to stand down.” 

Within a moment Dot answered dutifully, “Of course! Done. Anything else you’d like me to tell them?”

Ozpin cut in before Glynda could tell her to dismiss them as well, “No, that will be enough for now. Thank you Dot.”

“I don’t get it, why worry that she is the one infiltrating the school? I’ve double-checked her record and it all adds up. Haven student, average grades, no family. Even their clerical error in assigning her a team, we’ve had cases like that here in Beacon, classes ending up with odd numbers...”

“Haven doesn’t make those kinds of mistakes, their paper trail is impeccable.”

Without missing a beat, Glynda countered, “There’s a first time for everything.”

Ozpin narrowed his eyes at the remark, closing the tablet scroll and turning his back to her.

“Which is why we’ll proceed as planned.”

_Maybe it’ll be awhile before I can sleep well again._

*******

It wasn’t often that the girl kept her waiting. Now that she cared to think back, it never happened before Cinder infiltrated Beacon. 

She used to serve her purpose so well, no questions asked, one could aim her at a target like a well-mannered 200-year old Nevermore and watch the destruction from afar. Then like the obedient girl she was, Cinder would return, speechless when everything about her screamed in need for appreciation.

It was always like that with her. Her words said one thing, yet her attitude..

Salem provided that appreciation, of course. Like humans needed food, bows needed arrows and fish needed water, Cinder needed the care. She just couldn’t give the girl enough to truly satisfy. Doing so would make her stronger in the future, for when their despicable world hurt her again, and It’d prevent being too attached to someone with so much potential.

After all, potential was just that. Potential. All it meant was that she wasn’t good _yet_. Maybe it was the way things went with children once they left their nests, or maybe she’d pay off in the future, but at that moment?

_Underwhelming._

Not just the girl’s behaviour. The dorm room Ozma stuffed her in was definitely and thoroughly underwhelming. Even the seer’s limited sense could see it, and it had only been there for thirty minutes this time. 

How had she never noticed before? One room, only big enough not to be called a closet, and miraculously large enough for a bed, table, and sink she hoped no one had the courage to call a kitchen. There was only enough space to maneuver in between so that the pieces of furniture wouldn’t fuse into a single bed-desk-sink abomination. At least Beacon had the decency to provide a bathroom in each dorm room.

And to think Ozma had the gall to treat her as a villain. What was next, was he feeding them the gruesome crime to culinary tradition that Hazel described as ‘instant noodles’? If he didn’t expect to be antagonized for any of it, he should’ve known better.

The sound of four locks opening brought her thoughts to the present. Behind the door, was Cinder, thirty minutes late and bearing an empty expression.

“Cinder.”

The girl didn’t answer. Good, she knew what she had done, it was quite the inconvenience to have someone else take a Seer inside Vale walls, and Salem did it purely so she could talk to her. 

“Explain yourself,” Salem commanded as soon as Cinder finished locking the door, and kneeling in front of her.

“I was asked to attend a meeting with the Headmaster.” 

“With Ozpin?”

“Yes,” Cinder answered. The truth was obvious, everything but her words made it explicit.

She was scared.

The meeting was precocious, the girl still hadn’t had the time to earn a few smaller victories as Salem thought she would. Her confidence had to be nurtured again.

“And I assume you’ve returned to tell me you finished your mission? Killed him and acquired the maiden’s powers?”

Salem knew she hadn’t. She was aware of far more than the girl could ever think of, and if Cinder hadn’t deduced it until now, she would after this. There was no need for someone on that level of uselessness.

She approached the girl, and even from miles away, through the eyes of a seer, it was easy to see it only exacerbate things. It was good, pivotal even, in keeping her well-behaved.

“Get up,” she told Cinder. The girl expected punishment at hearing the words, perhaps worse.

Salem embraced her, with a small use of the same magic she held for the thousands of years before, she warmed the girl, to make her feel a little closer.

“It’s okay.”

The reaction was immediate, as expected. Her breathing was calmer, her heart wasn’t beating as quickly as it was before, and Cinder hid a smile.

“All that matters is that you’re _here_. Safe and sound. I was almost worried again.”

She let the statement sink in. it would make the guilt hit a little harder.

“I’ll always wait as long as I need to, I know you can fulfill your destiny.”

“I…” The girl tried to speak, no doubt her lies running through her mind at that very moment. Some part of her still vehemently believed Salem didn’t know she still interacted with that team. 

She still believed she was being rebellious. Good.

“I think you’ve been through enough today, haven’t you? Watts wouldn’t stop blabbering about your previous escapade.”

“About that, I didn’t think it would result in such commotion,” Cinder answered, trying her best to remain calm. It was almost endearing.

“It was perfect,” Salem said, releasing her from the hug. It made the action more pointed when she suspended the spell, leaving the girl to the cold of her dorm room.

“Really?” Cinder asked, a smile almost creeping up from the corners of her mouth.

“Really. I couldn’t have asked for something better, you are going above and beyond my expectations,” she lied. 

“Even Watts praised it some,” Salem continued. It was true, although the praise given was only because that mission earned him information about Atlas and what he called ‘false flag operations’.

“I didn’t know about that. Is what why he’s been less insufferable?”

Salem chuckled once. The girl was more confident, as Salem expected. This was preferable, she’d be much more useful now. And the way Cinder kept trying to imitate her was simply adorable.

“Perhaps it is. This is why you’re such a good one, Cinder. You don’t disappoint me,” she lied again.

“Thank you, I-”

“You will stop refusing my calls, from now on… so we can talk more, of course. Understood?”

“Yes, understood.”

*******

“Pyrrha, This is too much, even for you,” Nora whispered as they walked quietly through the west wing. There shouldn’t be anyone in there, but they kept their conversation quiet just in case

“Or maybe it’s just the right amount of ‘much’, did you think about that?” Pyrrha whispered as she pointed at Nora, exasperated.

Nora looked at her, confused, “That doesn’t even make any sense!”

“You know what doesn’t make any sense? Cinder not telling me she was going to the teacher’s room!”

Nora sighed, “I’m sure it’s just some dumb meeting, she’s been through a lot after they started airing those theories. I mean maybe she _is_ living tissue over a metal endoskeleton but I hear those things can be detected by dogs so I’m sure she’s in the clear.”

“I’m not talking about that. Ozpin never called anyone there! He always calls them to his office, and it’s always during recess.”

It gave Nora something to think about, From the confusion apparent in her face, not everything added up, “Okay, that makes a lot more sense, you should just tell people what you’re thinking.”

 _Maybe I should,_ she thought. Was it the best time to be talking about it? Definitely not. 

It didn’t stop Pyrrha, “I’m worried about her, okay?”

Nora yawned, tired, “Geez, _Thank you_. Almost thought you were having a jealousy episode there. I mean I’ve been there, just ask Ren about the second-year class from Signal.”

Pyrrha stared at her, “Do I wanna know?”

Nora crossed her arms, looking away, “Let’s just say tiny Nora fought a lot of people and she’s very regretful of it.”

“Why am I only hearing about this now?” Pyrrha asked, as they approached Cinder’s room. 

_Room 636_ , she still remembered it.

“Well, I’d-” Nora tried to say, before Pyrrha shushed her. 

_Listen,_ Pyrrha mouthed the words as she put an ear to the door.

_“Safe and sound. I was almost worried again.”_

Their words were almost impossible to make up, was the door reinforced? Pyrrha tried to move to a better position in vain. Was cinder on a video call with someone from her family? Given the way she acted last time Pyrrha saw them calling her, they didn’t seem to be on good terms.

So why get on a video call with one of them?

Maybe they wanted something from her? Pyrrha had heard of more than one of those cases. Families that ignore and neglect children, only to come crawling back when they became powerful huntsmen and huntresses.

 _“This is why..., Cinder. You don’t disappoint me,”_

_“Thank you, I-”_

_“You will stop refusing my calls, from now on… so we can talk more, of course. Understood?”_

_"Yes, understood.”_

Nora stared at Pyrrha when the call ended. It was clear she was thinking the same thing. 

"Oh my god." 

  
  



	10. Intermission - Shatterpoint

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oof, posted this earlier without the proper formatting. First version came out without italics, hope nobody had to suffer through that.

**Wheel of Fortune**

Could the Fire Witch take longer to get there? Roman was running out of patience, and the fact she sent the two kids _again_ wasn’t helping. At least they had enough self-preservation skills to stay quiet for once, even if it was because Adam wouldn’t stop pacing back and forth. 

_Tick, Tick, Tick,_ Roman mimicked the sounds in his mind as he observed from the side; the man was clearly unstable, a ticking time bomb. Normally a deal with anyone like him was something reckless, to be avoided at all costs. Prevention was better than the cure, as they say, but it wasn’t an option. Why did Cinder choose him, specifically?

Who knew, maybe he had connections. A little something to cut through the tension and _distract_ Adam would be for the best, but Roman knew he couldn’t rely on Cinder’s couple of stooges to do it.

But what to say?

 _What’s the matter? Cat got your self control?_ Nope. As much as he’d love to, it would hit all the wrong buttons, and Roman was a _professional_ , saying something like that would only show he had moles reporting him about Adam’s unhealthy mania. Chances were it would just anger him, maybe enough to cause steam to shoot out of his ears--like something out of one of Neo’s cartoons--but it would also pick an unnecessary fight. 

Could Roman take him? Probably. But it was best not to push his luck. That, and his workout routine was a lot harder these days, given it involved stealing every speck of Dust on Vale. He leaned against the abandoned mine cart, cane in hand, thinking.

_Maybe the brats got the right idea, goddamn that psycho is just too much trouble. Why even work with his White Fang in the first place?_

In the past, it was easy to deal with hotheads when they were the occasional dirty Huntsman. He’d have something to fall back on, some dirt on them, or maybe enough money to get them to look the other way if all else failed--none of that mattered when it came to Adam Taurus and his merry band of maniacs. Blowing a hole in the center of the city of Vale, what a joke.

Granted, he’d normally have more than a couple of kids who thought they were hot shit backing him up, but Neo was that someone, the one who would always ensure he’d escape in one piece. Roman had made sure she was too busy taking care of the operation, and that was for the best, he preferred his current situation to risking her. The whole meeting was just insurance, to guarantee their truce still stood, even as every passing day made it clearer how much of a meaningless truce it really was.

The man that stood before him wanted war with the human race, and as soon as this meeting ended, he would begin thinking of a way to betray both Roman and Cinder, to start hunting for blood wherever he’d find it. Pure foolishness, Roman still trusted his luck, but he wasn’t enough of a fool to trust Adam Taurus, especially when he was only brought into the whole deal thanks to, again, the Fire Witch.

 _It all comes back to her, doesn’t it?_

“Getting a little impatient?” he tested. “I’d offer you a cup of coffee, but the way things are right now just saying the word would probably call the Beacon team,” Roman chuckled once, those kids were strong but about as sharp as a marble.

Adam scoffed at him, “What’s so funny about that?”

From his deadpan expression Adam didn’t seem amused. Oh well, it wasn’t as if Roman didn’t try. As if on cue, Cinder appeared, jumping down from a stone drill, “The most amusing thing about it is how this time Roman is correct.”

As soon as she landed, Adam was incensed, from his tone it was obvious he’d much rather skip the courtesies entirely. 

“I suppose that’s what this is about? Why don’t we address the main cause then?” he said, as accusatory as he could. _These young warlords just don’t know how to play the game, do they?_ They were supposed to be on neutral ground, and Adam picking a fight would only make both Roman and Cinder put aside grievances to put him down.

Roman groaned mentally, and proceeded to walk towards the two, to facilitate their conversation, “What? No ‘hello, how are you doing?’, just straight to business? We could at least enjoy the party a little!” he punctuated the sentence planting his cane on the rocky ground.

Cinder looked around the mine, as disgustingly smug as the Fire Witch always was, “No movies, no food, and our club is a little empty, but I suppose there isn’t much we can do about it... we’re still making preparations for the _bash_.”

Adam groaned, annoyed, “Then perhaps you’d like to explain how it ties into that stunt? Live on TV?”

“Are you questioning my methods?” Cinder retorted, deadpan.

“I’m questioning the results. I didn’t even know we had someone inside Beacon, let alone that it was you.”

Cinder’s expression didn’t change, “You didn’t know because it was better for the plan.” 

As soon as the words left Cinder’s mouth, a vein seemed to pop in Adam’s forehead, “Excuse me?”

“The more we compartmentalize this plan, the higher the chances of success, and I’m sure you want success.”

Adam snarled after hearing the words, “I’m being mocked on intercontinental TV! People think the White Fang is involved with moon-dwellers and apocalyptic cults! How can you call that ‘success’?”

He most likely didn’t realize it, but the way he worded things made it too easy for Roman. It was a good chance to talk him down, “What, you mean that circus, CommLink? Did people suddenly start taking them seriously? Because I didn’t get the memo.”

Adam clenched his jaw, “Not just them. Every news station is using this opportunity to mock the White Fang,” he pointed a finger at Cinder, “And that’s definitely not what we agreed on.”

Cinder stared him down, “Oh? And what did we agree on again?”

 _Ah, nice one,_ Roman had to admit, if only mentally and never, ever vocally. He didn’t know what the specifics of their deal was, but from the way Adam was infuriated as Cinder asked the question, he could guess it was less of a mutual agreement and more of a threat.

Realizing his mistake, Adam composed himself, “What about all the faunus of the White Fang, the ones who joined us? I’ll have to explain this, and they’re certainly not happy about it either.”

“Good,” Cinder retorted, without missing a beat.

“Good?”

Cinder smiled, “Yes, good. You’re not doing this because you’re happy, are you? I know they’re certainly not.” She paused for a second, before continuing, “And I _detest_ this. Even if this situation is… unexpected, are they angry at you?”

Roman took the chance to cut in before Adam could answer, “If they are, I certainly haven’t heard any of it, If anything, they’re working harder than ever!”

Cinder turned to him, “And I’ll assume they’re being properly compensated.”

“Dear, I may be a thief but I’m not a Schnee,” Roman picked up his cane as he faced Adam, “You do business with me, you get, simple as that. Speaking of which, did you see Perry’s new bike?”

Cinder raised an eyebrow, “Red one, with the white decals?”

Roman nodded in return, smirking. He knew saying that much was unnecessary, but he wasn’t sure if it was enough to get through Adam’s skull.

The smug smile returned to Cinder’s face, briefly satisfied, “So you see? If anything, this was a victory.”

Adam’s brows furrowed behind the mask, “And I’m supposed to believe it was always a part of the plan?”

Before he could continue Roman cut in once more, “Does it matter? We just moved literal tons worth of Dust in here, and there’s more coming. They couldn’t stop us if they tried!”

Still calm, Cinder continued from Roman’s remark, “We’ll delay the plan just a while longer, and since you’re already here, Adam, perhaps the presence will bring some extra motivation among your troops.”

Adam groaned, noncommittal, “That can be done. I’ll stay for now, goodbye.” He walked away from them first, jumping to higher levels so he could walk into one of the many cave formations. Roman knew it wouldn’t satisfy him, but it would be enough for a while, and having their leader around wouldn’t just make the white fang happy, It’d lighten the load on all of them; less time spent planning and watching his back, more time getting things done. The sooner he got those dust bombs loaded, the sooner he could be free of the Fire Witch.

As Adam moved safely out of sight, Roman turned on his heel, walking away from Cinder, “Well then, I believe business is done for today, so we must part ways.”

“Not yet,” Roman heard Cinder say from behind him. The two brats approached him from the front, surrounding him.

 _Oh my, what could she need now?_ He knew she’d ask for something, but he didn’t think she’d ask immediately. It had to be important to her, or else she’d just keep the debt as a bargain chip forever, a better move, at least according to Roman’s experience. He stopped, waiting.

Cinder smiled, “There’s still something left to do. Something about _him_.” 

***

**Tomorrow Comes Today**

She crawled out of the burned-down rubble, intact.

 _The others, what about the others?_ Glynda took a palm to her pocket, looking for her scroll. Reaching inside her front pocket she found it, wrecked. Couldn’t see her team’s status. One foot in front of the other, she walked out of the rubble, to the ruined street. Had they at least evacuated the village? Looking at the damage done, the building was in shambles, but maybe her team...

“We got a live one!” she heard nearby, behind and to her left. Eyes widening, she turned around in an instant. 

Just a first responder, not a Huntsman or a bandit. How long was she out? Glynda hardly felt like it was for that long, but then again, she didn’t feel much of anything. There was a chance the rest of her team was gone, and somehow, something inside her didn’t seem to have processed the information yet.

Of course it hadn’t, she was a Beacon student after all. Huntsman and Huntresses were supposed to be strong. Even if they lost fights, even if they lost everyone, they wouldn’t stop, wouldn’t cry, not until the mission was done. Huntsmen had no weakness, and she was meant to be a Huntress. 

If she was still in one piece, then maybe they made it too.

“Glynda!” she heard a familiar voice call that time. For a moment she hoped it was Olivia, ready to dish a never-ending flurry of insults for the stunt she pulled. Instead, she recognized the voice of a boy, Another student. 

“Jimmy,” she whispered under her breath.

It could have taken ten seconds or a minute, but she walked his way. As she did so, everything weighed just a little too much. Breathing hurt, her vision was a little spotty, and the floor seemed to tilt when she turned her head too quickly. As quickly as she assessed the damage done, her aura healed it, little by little, but it wasn’t everything. 

Her semblance was different now. It felt familiar, even if everything about it told her it wasn’t. How did it happen? When?

Jimmy hobbled over to her. He still wasn’t used to the new leg, Although if his new uniform was any indication, it seemed like he got a promotion, “Glynda, what happened? First I hear about bandits, next Team GOLD disappears off the map, and now this. Is that your blood?”

Glynda looked down at her blouse, tainted a mahogany red. A touch to her forehead confirmed it, congealed blood.

“Glynda, you okay?” 

It didn’t matter.

She pointed her crop to the ruined building, and on her command pieces drifted back to the places where they once belonged, retrograde telekinesis that used a fraction of a fraction of the focus Glynda needed before. In a matter of seconds, the building stood again, as new. She barely needed a thought to make it happen, where before she’d need to see, assess, and focus on moving each individual piece. In the past, the crop helped as something to focus her power through, something of a crutch. She didn’t even need it anymore.

 _Has anything else changed?_ Did she hit her head and now found herself trapped in some kind of dream? Glynda never even knew semblances could change, not enough people with semblances around to tell tales about things like that.

For a moment, Jimmy was speechless. He looked at her, likely thinking about the same thing, “You couldn’t do that before…”

“Getting a little jealous, _Jimmy_?”

It struck a nerve, and amused Glynda. As always, James scowled before answering, “I told you to call me James.”

She smirked, if only because it would get on his nerves again, “And I believe told you to, and I quote, ‘bite me’?”

“One of these days I actually will.”

That was better, when Jimmy got miffed, he worried less about her, and it was exactly what she wanted. He pinched the bridge of his nose, annoyed.

“You saw the emergency mission on the board, didn’t you? Got here in record time too.”

“Did anyone else take it?”

“No, nobody.”

 _It wouldn’t matter either way, the village was a lost cause,_ is what Glynda knew he wanted to say. Jimmy was a good person, she was sure about it, but Atlas military wasn’t doing him any good. He lost something along with that leg of his, and it seemed like it was starting to become a trend with him.

Glynda would rather not think about it. “We need to find the rest of my team, they could still be in there. If they’re hurt then I need to help them. They were helping people too.”

Jimmy looked away, “Sure… Let’s look for survivors.”

Glynda’s eyes snapped open.

 _I knew it. A long, long time before I can sleep well again._ She’d at least avoided sleeping in the lounge, yet even in the confines of her own room it didn’t feel much better.

Why did it have to show her that day again, though? She’d replayed it in her head more than enough times, burned every detail in her mind, from the smell of the ash, to the village’s name and the color of the sky.

She knew it would happen however, because Glynda was exactly aware of what weighed on her conscience. The weight of thirty Atlesian operatives staging a bandit attack in Vale? That was something she could bear for a while. If only because it could be a power play, someone from Atlas trying to frame James. It was the only reason she agreed to keep it under wraps.

She told herself there was still a chance, so why didn’t Glynda believe it?

The weight of thirty gunners honed in on a student she’d nearly lead to her death? Impossible to bear, no matter what. If she didn’t have her powers, it was likely that Glynda wouldn’t even know they were there. Ozpin sure hadn’t warned her about it, and if he had, she’d have objected on principle. 

Hopefully it was just a one-time lapse in his judgement, something that wouldn’t repeat itself.

However... Thirty bandits, or thirty gunners, did it matter which threatened the lives of her students? Even if Cinder was a spy, did that justify it? She sat up on her bed, crossing her legs she leaned on a hand, thinking. 

If Cinder was some kind of infiltrator, then that meant she had to be the one who tried to kill Amber, it’s the only thing they’d have to gain. Did she even have it in her, to do something like that? Back in the forest when she left camp, from the way she looked clear through her, as if Glynda was a pane of glass, the girl looked haunted, not just stressed or overwhelmed. If what she said was true, and she really couldn’t sleep, then she had the same symptoms other students sometimes did.

Which took Glynda to the next thought. Night terrors. None of them screamed in their sleep, but that wasn’t the only way it could manifest. Team Juniper reported their teammate’s condition, and it seemed like the Valkyrie girl was mostly fine, most of the time, but it was a sign of trauma and stress. It was becoming too common among Beacon students, and it was usually handled by the teams and the doctors. But the transfer student didn’t have a team, and sure didn’t seem preoccupied with looking for a doctor.

After Cinder came back from the tower at Pyrrha’s side, Glynda knew they more than liked each other, could see it in their eyes. Feelings like that that were perfectly natural, so she didn’t comment on it. It didn’t interfere during their mission in the slightest, and they needed to live their lives, take the chances she herself never could.

So that was out the question, it probably wasn’t some sort of acting expected of an infiltrator, which kept Glynda’s train of thought moving. Cinder was surprised when she tried to check up on her, and closed off immediately. It seemed more like she was confused, in the same way students caught breaking rules always were, nothing too suspicious. Said she lived with anxiety, but there was more to that, given what Glynda already knew. 

After Ozpin called her to the meeting? She looked _scared_. Not just surprised, or confused, but scared for her life. Maybe she didn’t know, but there was a chance her aura tried to warn her of the imminent danger. 

Could that girl really be the assassin that nearly killed Amber, and tried to take her powers? Even if she was, was killing her the right thing to do? Amber still lived, and perhaps they could find another way. She didn’t want to think of a student as a threat.

The scroll’s alarm beeped, meaning it was four in the morning, time for her to get up. It was a benefit of having aura, that she needed less sleep, and got more out of each hour of rest.

She took it, and out of habit checked the student’s records. Students had to notify when they were leaving, only so the Academy would be able to keep track of them. None had done so, except the students who were away on missions, but something felt off to Glynda, and she had a terrible feeling she knew exactly what. 

Calling Professor Ann might at least help calm her nerves, and chances were Ozpin wasn’t watching her as closely.

Ann picked up on the third ring, like always, “Geez Glynda, do you know what time it is?”

“Yes, four o’clock. Are you still here in Beacon?”

“Just coming back from patrol. I’m fine, by the way.” Ann said, likely alluding to the bullet wound she received a couple of days before.

Glynda sighed, she was letting her concern get the better of her. Then again, with aura on play not many injuries short of amputation were permanent, “Sorry. Hey, could you do me a favour?”

“Always, what do you need?” Ann asked through the phone, cheery as always.

“Could you… Could you check up on a student for me?” Glynda asked, considering perhaps she should have asked it in person.

“Whoa, where’s that coming from?”

“Nowhere, I just need to know if she’s fine. It’s Cinder, the transfer student from Mistral. I think she’s at the west wing, room 636.” 

“On my way there, It’ll just take a minute. Is that student from the news?”

“Yes.”

Ann hummed, thinking, “And you checked the records already?”

“First thing in the morning,” Glynda answered.

“So let me guess, you’re either scared something’s going to happen, or that she has a target on her back now?”

Glynda would’ve chuckled if Ann wasn’t so close to the reality of the matter, “I guess you could say that.”

If it was possible to hear a sly smile from the phone, then Glynda could swear she would have as soon as Ann said the first words, “That’s so like you. Just admit it, you’re a big ol’ softie.”

Glynda groaned, not out of annoyance, but impatience, “There’s also the fact she’s still a student, Ann. To us things like that aren’t a big deal, but to them that’s their entire world. Usually they’ll at least have their teams, but I don’t know why her dorm was assigned to the west wing. There’s no one else there, and there won’t be for a couple of months.”

“Sounds like it sucks, a completely empty wing?”

“Normally it wouldn’t be, but with the Vytal Festival on its way, we're still making preparations. Last time I checked the place was desolate.” Glynda let it hang on the air until she heard the distant sound of Ann knocking on the door.

“Anyone in there? Time to get up, kid!” Ann called as she knocked on the door.

Ann tried again, knocking harder the next time, and thrice more. No response as they waited for over ten minutes, It was starting to become worrisome.

“Screw this, I’m going in.”

Glynda didn’t hear anything, but she knew the Stealth and Security Professor could pick a simple door. 

“Holy... who installs four locks on their door?”

“Someone worried about their safety, maybe. Is she fine?”

Ann remained calm, even as she answered, “She might be okay but she’s definitely not here. I guess she sneaked out then.”

Did she? For someone suspected of being an infiltrator, it didn’t look good, but Glynda had done the same back in her time as a student. Not everything was as suspicious as it initially seemed.

“I guess she did. Alright, thanks Anne,” Glynda said, nearly on autopilot, turning off the scroll a moment after Anne answered.

Then there were practical worries. She could have sneaked out to enjoy a night partying, just as easily as Beacon’s security could’ve been breached, and the girl kidnapped. It was a completely empty wing after all.

 _What now,_ what was she supposed to think now? 


	11. Lies and Deceit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, quick warning this one is much longer than other chapters. Took me a long time time too, and I'm sorry. It was eventful January that streched into an eventful February, and although I wish I could've posted this sooner, some matters took a lot of time, plus, I didn't want to post this unfinished. It's one of the chapters I had in mind since I started the fic, and I didn't want it to be subpar.

“Well now, where are my manners?”

Emerald and Mercury both stopped on their tracks. With Roman back to his business and the Paladin deal a success, it was possibly the best time for them to discuss their own matters, away from the cave system and the white fang.

“Emerald, it’s good to see you again. Mercury, you’re… here,” she said. It wasn’t that she disliked his presence, it was simply hard to find a good way to describe it.

“Always,” Mercury answered, still as cocky as Cinder remembered.

The confidence was good, but she shouldn’t let his arrogance fly off the handle. Emerald was the one with his leash, but even after explicit orders to keep their hands clean in Vale they eliminated one of Roman’s contacts. Their fighting prowess was definitely necessary, but the brash and stupid attitude had no place during an endeavor like theirs.

She had to save face when Roman found out and so it was never brought up again, yet even the memory angered her, the ex-white fang was _supposed_ to escape, as it would make it clear for the others they could leave without Adam and his men following. A message sent without words.

Perhaps she should’ve treated the situation differently back then, but as luck would have it, it became unnecessary. There was a chance the Belladonna would be helpful there, somewhere in the future.

Banishing the thoughts out of mind for a moment, she noticed there was something different about Emerald.

“Em, are you letting your hair grow out?” Her bangs were already growing long enough to almost obscure her eyes, and the neck length hair neared shoulder length.

“Oh!, that, I didn’t really think about cutting it this month but I’m going-”

Cinder grinned, did a simple compliment really sound that false when coming from her? “I think it looks _stunning._ ”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Mercury cut in with a remark aimed at Emerald, one Cinder didn’t bother to hear nor give any attention to. She kept both of them on her sights to make sure a fight wouldn’t break out, but otherwise didn’t really listen, her thoughts strayed elsewhere. _Perhaps it would be better to make their mission clear_ ; last time she relied on expecting common sense out of the two, when it should’ve been clear that wasn’t an option.

“Put a lid on it, both of you. There’s something important we need to talk about,” she said. The comment prompted both to shut it, thankfully averting the migraine Cinder expected.

She continued, uninterrupted, “I need to make sure you two understand what you’re supposed to do from here on.”

Mercury was quick to answer, “Make sure everything runs smoothly, stay by Roman’s side-”

“As much he doesn’t deserve it.” Emerald cut in.

Mercury grinned and pointed a thumb at Emerald, “That. And when the train’s up and running…”

“We take out Adam,” they said in unison.

 _Amazing coordination._ She should’ve known all it’d take to make them cooperate was a common enemy.

“Just one question, boss.” Mercury said.

Cinder raised an eyebrow, “Yes?”

“Why are we even getting Adam to play along then? We could just do it now, piece of cake. Then we make Junior’s men get things working.”

It was an interesting question, yet needless to say, Cinder wasn’t entirely willing to present the information in monologue form. She could just order them to do as she said, but the utter lack of results it brought about the last time didn’t exactly make it an appealing alternative.

 _Screw it,_ she’d do it anyways. At least it would be some form of stress relief.

“Because this is a fickle alliance. He’s cooperating for now, but that won’t be true once we reach our goal.You should keep an eye on the one with the Deathstalker mask too, he strikes me as a zealot. Now, when it comes to the White Fang itself, we have much to gain from our alliance.”

Emerald’s brows furrowed at the statement, “We do?”

“Yes, plainly put, we both want to see the end of Atlas and their army. I think you’ve both seen the androids Atlas has in store, when those murderous robots aren’t fighting Grimm where do we see them again?”

Mercury folded his arms, “Guarding Schnee trains, patrolling Atlesian streets…”

Cinder continued from his sentence, leaning on one hip, their sudden interest was a breath of fresh air, “And they’re already selling their military-issue robots in Vale. Robots controlled by Atlas, who as Watts said, can be taken over at any time-” she waved a finger as though to underline her statement–“so it’s not a peace offering or a sign of unity, it's their army occupying this kingdom quietly and insidiously.”

The pair remained silent, preferring to stare intently. _More focused than usual? A pleasant surprise._

Emerald seemed confused for a second, “But how does the White Fang help there?”

“Because we want to work together on solutions, not problems. Junior and his men simply don’t care, and sure, after tremendous amounts of effort some Huntsmen might agree that an Atlas-Schnee empire is just bad for everyone, but what are they going to do? Ask nicely for Ironwood to stop upgrading their firepower as they stomp everyone-human or faunus-into submission? No, the Atlesian robotic army needs to be removed thoroughly, and for that, their flaws need to be exposed for everyone, bright as day. The White Fang knows this better than anyone.”

Emerald and Mercury remained silent, perhaps the rationale surprised them? Had she ever mentioned it before? It was something of a barbed point to make, maybe she’d gone too far.

Mercury was the first one to speak up, “I gotta say boss, this makes a lot more sense this time around. Me personally? I would’ve been on board for a lot less, after those stations said you worship the black cube of Saturn everything’s fair game now.”

Emerald chuckled, “I mean, who’d even believe that?”

As both chatted away, she allowed her mind to deviate again, in part to protect her sanity from the consistent onslaught of conspiracies they listed. How many different theories did that make? She hadn’t heard the same theory twice now, it was becoming less of a wound to her ego and more of a source of discomfort, it made her worry how long it would take before they started to extend the same to the woman she saved that day.

Or worse, to team Juniper.

It would simply ruin her plans if it became something that couldn’t be contained to herself, she couldn’t say it out loud that she cared about team Juniper all that much. Although Nora’s ability to liven up everyone’s mood was starting to grow on her. And Ren wasn’t as bland as she initially assumed he would be, at least his cooking was far from such an adjective. They would also be valuable allies, and nothing about their attitude spoke of undying loyalty to Beacon or any other asinine form of worship. Perhaps they would follow Pyrrha.

Then there was Pyrrha. Did she even know how valuable she was? Her strength was something to behold, the post-tournament commentaries weren’t wrong when they said she had more skill than anyone they’d seen in the last decade. Then there was her charisma, the way she talked, laughed, how she looked when concentrating on homework, and even the way her hair flowed behind her as she walked away from class, it was all so intoxicating, real palpable proof that Cinder made the correct choice when looking for an ally in her.

If she couldn’t keep the mess she caused away from them, away from Pyrrha, then what would her entire operation be for? In just a few days they’d see, she couldn’t let something as frivolous and unprofessional as her own feelings get in the way of the plan.

“-Or a clone of a pre-war Atlesian tyrant,” Emerald finished.

Cinder straightened her back and refused to acknowledge the conspiracies, “In any case, I trust you two will behave. We can’t afford mistakes now.”

***

Pyrrha frowned when she heard someone knocking on the door. Why were they knocking at five in the morning?

Granted, she was up at four, anything else would just be excess sleep. Unlocking her aura had that kind of side effect, where it was easy to find herself with excess energy and no outlet. From what she read and the doctors confirmed, it was exactly what was supposed to happen, the situations where a normal person would find themselves exhausted halfway to death could be outperformed routinely by any aura-enhanced person.

It didn’t mean she liked it.

And it certainly didn’t mean she would rather answer the door instead of actually finishing her homework. Yes, it was saturday, meaning she’d rather stay in bed all day, but that was no excuse to fall a little behind next month’s lessons.

That, and the others were currently helping Ren ‘withdraw‘ some supplies from the Beacon kitchen, so somebody had to stay anyway. Good, less need to change out of her pajamas.

“Just a second!” she said, hoping whoever was on the other side heard her.

 _Who’d possibly take time out of their morning just to stop by the Juniper dorm during a weekend?_ Everyone else was spending their time doing something worthwhile, like going out on dates, meeting with family, or advancing their homework in the expectation that teachers would swamp them with quests near the end of the year.

Maybe not everyone was doing that last part, but they definitely _should_ be doing it. It wasn’t as if _Port_ of all professors would teach them the practical applications of delayed-action dust munitions as they related to the uses of Aura-infused weaponry during Grimm hunts, or the diminishing returns they created for little to no benefit, _no_ , Port would much rather talk about the times he shot some Grimm then did a flip as a young Huntsman.

They knocked on the door again, did they have no patience at all? Pyrrha was about to give them a piece of her mind, until she opened the door and her heart almost skipped a beat from a familiar stone-cold tone.

“Miss Nikos, a word, please.”

Before her stood none other than Glynda Goodwitch, Huntress, Combat Instructor, and possibly the only professor who was capable of nearly causing a medical emergency with her presence alone.

And she wasn’t in a good mood. _Although_ , she couldn’t tell if Glynda could ever be in a good mood.

Pyrrha sputtered for a moment, “I, eh, sure! Is it time for the dorm inspection already? A bit early this time!”

She attempted to buy some time, hoping to whatever gods were out there that Glynda wouldn’t notice the highly suspicious absence of the other three Juniper members when they hadn’t filed an absence report.

Glynda didn’t answer, preferring to let her expression do the talking. The neutral gaze seemed more and more disapproving every second, enough so Pyrrha could feel a bead of sweat run down her temple.

_How does she do that?_

Sneaking a quick glance into the hallway, she looked behind Glynda just in time to see Ren, Nora and Jaune on the way back to the dorm, carrying an array of ingredients. They stumbled and rushed away as they realized the Combat Instructor was present.

The professor’s eyes scanned the room, examining cautiously, “No. This is about your former temporary teammate, Cinder Fall. She was not found within Beacon premises. May I come in?”

Pyrrha smiled, hiding her brittle composure, “Of course! Don’t mind the mess, we’ve just been so worried with… the… mid-semester tests! Yeah, you know how it is this time of the year.”

Glynda’s heels clicked past her, “Surely.”

Why she went this far simply to discuss a missing teammate was something beyond Pyrrha, everyone knew some students sneaked out from time to time, Cinder wasn’t any different, “Is she in any trouble?”

“That will depend. I’m sure you’re well aware that at this point, but Miss Fall is something of a public figure now, and if she’s sighted elsewhere when records don’t match, it could be troublesome.”

 _Oh no,_ that was the long way of saying she’d face more public scandals, and unlike Pyrrha, Cinder didn’t have a worldwide brand managing that twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.

“Wait, there’s even more trouble than people saying she’s part of an ancient reptilian cabal that rules Remnant from the shadows?” Pyrrha asked, hoping she was buying enough time for her team to hurry as far away as they could, preferably to the other side of Beacon.

“Yes, there’s worse than theories about how she’s a Council member and Beacon doesn’t exist.”

“Even-”

“Yes, even worse than theories about how she’s an inverted Schnee clone.”

“And-”

"Yes, Yes Miss Nikos. Even worse than the rumors about a student with no team being a sign of the doomsday, may you please focus now?!”

Pyrrha swallowed, well aware that Glynda’s patience was starting to wear thin. Glynda walked along the room, searching. “I’m well aware that these situations can be stressful. Unfortunately, Beacon cannot prepare its students for scenarios such as this-” she brandished her crop, making the bed float in midair instead of leaning to look underneath- “And it’s certainly not an offense, so you can rest easy, she’s not getting detention for leaving once.”

She had a strict tone of voice, but regardless of what Glynda said, Pyrrha didn’t trust it completely. Not when she knew _something_ was happening behind the scenes, even if she couldn’t tell what.

Glynda lowered the bed down to its original place, then continued, “The reason I’m here is because given the circumstance, the responsibility falls onto me. I partially expected her to be at your dorm.”

Heat spread across Pyrra’s face, “Why-Why would she be here, I mean, we talk every now and then but...”

Glynda’s eyes narrowed behind the glasses, “Regardless, it seems I was incorrect. I’ll be leaving now. Before I go, I should let you know, Miss Nikos, that should you come in contact with Miss Fall you are to immediately notify me. These are simple matters after all, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be solved within a few minutes.”

Pyrrha breathed a sigh of relief, at least it was good to know Cinder wouldn’t be facing life in detention for sneaking out once. That would get in the way, plus, detention was now populated by Cardin, which would definitely double the unpleasantness of it all.

Glynda stopped, then motioned at the dorm with a finger, spinning it as if to encompass the room, “And additionally, do properly organize Beacon food supplies before you bring into your dorm."

Pyrrha’s eyes widened, before she could ask the teacher how she knew such a thing, Glynda turned her back and walked away, with purpose, as all Huntsmen and Huntresses were thought to even back at combat school.

Great, now her focus was simply gone. Writing team Juniper’s paper on _117 Dust Applications_ was already a difficult task, she could use less interruptions. It was difficult to get back into the same momentum, she’d spent the last hour trying to do so deliberately, and now it was simply gone. As soon as she sat on the chair, her mind deviated. Maybe she had too much on her mind, or maybe she was already tired? Unlikely, she didn’t feel any fatigue. Maybe it was the thought of Cinder.

She was alone, so Pyrrha let the false cheeriness drop for a moment, already unwilling to accept what she was experiencing. The unannounced inspection didn’t sit right with her, an eerie feeling gnawed at the back of her mind. There was something they weren’t saying, something Beacon, Ozpin and maybe even Glynda were hiding from her. Was she simply paranoid, or was it her aura again?

She could ask a professor and there was a good chance they’d be able to tell, but if her instincts were right that would raise suspicion…

Her mind strayed right back to Cinder, again and again, about the conversation she overheard. It felt terrible now, and apparently she’d sneaked out for a day. Thinking back on it, Pyrrha regretted not saying anything to Glynda.

On the other hand, she shouldn’t even know about it. She’d intruded on the little bit of privacy Cinder could even have now, and it definitely didn’t feel right to tell Glynda. Cinder’s family seemed sketchy at best, and there was a good chance Pyrrha wasn’t having a good look at the full picture.

But maybe Cinder had been trying to say something, to someone?

Were there signs somewhere along the way?

She couldn’t tell, so many things simply escaped her all the time. Chances were that it was something that simply flew over Pyrrha’s head, something more intelligent huntresses would’ve caught on the spot. Hell, what if Glynda was that someone? What if the reason she was searching for a student herself rather than delegating it to guards, or at least waiting for the sun to rise, was because she understood it better than anyone else?

No, Glynda wouldn’t. She was a part of Beacon staff and a top Huntress, she didn’t have the time to care about a student and her personal life.

For a few minutes she didn’t know what to do, caught in that mental loop, stuck between wondering on which course of action to take.

 _Better do something, instead of nothing at all?_ It was an enticing thought that would get her away from the tedious task of reading and writing, but it was definitely not a healthy spiral to go down, would Cinder think less of her for acting that way towards her family? What if she was wrong?

If only to take her mind off the current source of affliction, she decided on curbing her instincts. Back to studying and numbing her mind with some much needed weapon design theory and applications.

Considering her options, going over _562 Mechanical Movements_ again came to mind _._ She’d have to write a report on what improvements Miló and Akoúo̱ needed for Port’s class, not to mention a study on firearm engineering history for Oobleck’s finals. Miló, her main weapon, could and should use less mechanisms, it was a weapon with a lot of versatility for sure, but the multitude of forms it could shift to increased the number of pieces needed-small pieces that could break easily-and she’d been trying to think of a way to optimize her weapon, it was expected of any Huntsman or Huntress worth their Pumpkin Pete’s sponsorship.

Maybe there was a way to add digital controls to her weapon. Atlas wasn’t keen on sharing, but the little they did went a long way, and she could think of more than a few ways to use the new battery-powered control boards to replace some of the dust-reaction engines in Miló-

_Who am I kidding._

Like a puff of smoke her focus dissipated entirely. She couldn’t simply sit there and contemplate something as small as upgrades! It was never an option. Pyrrha changed her clothes, she’d have gone for the usual uniform, but it was a weekend, and the armor was another needless waste of time. Instead, she preferred dressing in the new clothes Coco recommended, the jeans, kneehigh boots and sleeveless hoodie. It was simple, but it definitely beat wearing armor everywhere.

She picked up her scroll, and tapped Cinder’s name, unsure of where to go from there. Pyrrha puffed up her chest, gathering the courage to type something.

**[Private Message 05:12 AM] Pyrrha Nikos**

_Hello! R U there?_

There, it was something. Hopefully cinder would answer soon.

She knew what she wanted now: a date, in the city of Vale. Who cared about absent student records other than Glynda and Maybe Ozpin anyways? If she let things like homework, mistakes and anxiety take one-hundred percent of her time, It’d eat her alive before any Grimm even tried. She couldn’t put a finger on the reason, but at that moment, Beacon felt like the last place on Remnant to stay at.

Perhaps a bit too soon, the scroll vibrated with a notification, an answer.

**[Private Message 05:14 AM] Cinder Fall**

_Hi. I am not sure what you mean by “ru”, my vale dialect is slightly incomplete in those regards._

**[Private Message 05:14 AM] Pyrrha Nikos**

_Haha, that’s funny! By the way, you wanna meet up?_

Pyrrha regretted it as soon as she hit ‘send’, thankfully, Cinder answered before she could overthink her decision.

**[Private Message 05:15 AM] Cinder Fall**

_At this moment?_

**[Private Message 05:15 AM] Pyrrha Nikos**

_We could meet up later if that’s better! I kind of wanted to hang out some more_

**[Private Message 05:16 AM] Cinder Fall**

_Like a date? Yes._

Reading the words on screen nearly made her blood freeze over, had she ever called someone out for a date, even once before?

**[Private Message 05:16 AM] Cinder Fall**

_Where would you like to meet?_

The message brought Pyrrha back to reality, where would she like to meet Cinder?

**[Private Message 05:16 AM] Pyrrha Nikos**

_How about this place I know, I hear Adelaine’s has a great view!_

After hitting send Pyrrha regretted the message. Not because of the cafe choice, no, that was one of Coco’s suggestions after she’d spilled the beans about Cinder. Instead, she regretted the punctuation, did using exclamation marks so much make her sound manic? It was meant to show how excited she was!

**[Private Message 05:17 AM] Cinder Fall**

_Seems good, meet you there for lunch?_

After answering a short ‘Yes’, Pyrrha could’ve jumped with glee. It wasn’t often that she had the chance to go out on a date.

***

_Wipe, wipe wipe, then pretend you missed a spot._

That was how the people at Pumpkin Pete’s taught her to wave for a crowd, pretend she’s wiping a window, then wave a little lower. The woman that taught it to her learned from the schnees, and said it was meant to capture their hearts and keep the magical feeling Huntsmen and Huntresses were supposed to radiate. Although Pyrrha had called in to book a table, some people had recognized her as she walked through the streets, and a small crowd forming outside was simply inevitable, so she waved and smiled. At least the staff at Adelaine's was understanding, especially the waitress that showed her through the second floor’s wooden balcony.

“I think I’ll need a more private spot,” Pyrha said through the smile.

The waitress nodded once, “I see, we do have a private booth, although the view isn’t as good.”

“I don’t think the view will be a problem.”

“We understand, these things can escalate out of control, after all. Table for two, correct?” the waitress queried, motioning inside

“That’s correct.”

Following her inside, Pyrrha knew she could appreciate the lunch regardless, Adelaine’s had a charming decor; rustic with modern touches. Tree pillars and a wooden floor, plus the low lighting helped with the mood, even though it was a perfectly bright day outside. Maybe it would look even better during the sunset. One of the perks of being a celebrity for Pumpkin Pete’s was that fancy restaurants usually were quick to service, maybe for the free publicity, but it was convenient nonetheless.

The private booth wasn’t any different, and the most notable thing about it was the built-in scroll tablet they had at the center of the tables, so clients could order through a digital menu . Very advanced if anything, and it made things such as browsing the CCT more of a mutual experience.

After thanking the waitress, she sat down, ready to order. They wouldn’t kick her out for not buying something for too long, but even her presence there was causing something of an extra effort, if only because the staff now had to worry about a crowd of fans outside. It would only be fair if she bought _something_ right away, even if it was just a can of soda.

That being said, the bill would go straight to Pumpkin Pete’s at any case, so she wasn’t worried about the price tag per se. And when her finger pressed on the touchscreen, it just so happened to obscure the numbers.

_Oops. Anyways..._

It was a good half hour until Cinder finally appeared, but it was well worth the wait. For one, she wore a scarlet dress coat and a scarf, the type she kept for colder days. For another, she wore her hair on a bun, and sunglasses so oversized Pyrrha had to wonder why they even made those anymore.

Surprisingly, however, it worked as a disguise, it was difficult to tell she was the same Cinder, even though very little had changed. Could Pyrrha do the same with office clothes and a pair of prescription glasses? It would make grocery shopping far less overbearing.

Resting her chin on her hand, she watched as Cinder strutted closer, right foot the left and left foot to the right, weaving along the line between them, same as the day they’d met at the cafeteria. When she sat across from Pyrrha, it was hard not to smile.

Cinder casually removed the sunglasses, leaving them aside, “Please don’t ask about the glasses.”

Pyrrha chuckled, “At least tell me, did it work?”

“Yes, but I hate them with a passion.”

“Well, I hope the people at the entrance didn’t give you a hard time.”

Cinder huffed, “Not at all, although security thought I was some fan trying to sneak inside,”

The idea of it was enough to make Pyrrha laugh, but she kept it to a smile, “Well, are you? I gave them your name so you didn’t have to sneak in,” she leaned closer, looking Cinder in the eyes, “But are you a fan, here to charm your idol?”

It wasn’t often that something surprised Cinder. In fact, as far as Pyrrha could remember, nothing ever seemed to, and yet, at those words, her expression shifted, briefly breaking eye contact, before she looked back and smirked, “And what if I am? What if I qualified for the Vytal Festival all so I could have a chance to meet the one and only Pyrrha Nikos? Surely I wouldn’t be the first one,” she said, then moved her attention to the menu, leisurely scrolling through pages.

“You’d be surprised, people take a lot of pictures but none of them ever want to come close, not even for an autograph. Even the ones from the CCTS only did it because we were in that ship for hours. Although I guess that’s better than having no personal space at all,” Pyrrha said, laughing to contain her embarrassment.

“Yes, and being alone is simply dreadful,” she looked at Pyrrha, the corners of her mouth twitched upwards as she grinned, “But I can’t say the same for this menu, these names are quite something.”

“Ah yes, my personal favorite is the ‘Huntresses Temptation’, they say the recipe was scribbled from memory when they first cooked it in Mistral, where it used to entice most Huntresses from their temples to eat some of the soup.”

Cinder hummed as she looked at the menu, interested in the delicacy, “Shrimp, Ham, Matsutate along with many secret ingredients. The name does justice to it, but it’s so...”

“Expensive? It’s my treat, well, technically Pumpkin Pete’s treat,”

Intrigued by the statement, Cinder’s eyebrows raised, “Is that so? Even something like ‘Ozmandias Revolution’, ‘Bloody Marigold’ or ‘Sweet Salem’?”

The dishes were definitely expensive, but Pyrrha knew a company like Pumpkin Pete’s wouldn’t bat an eye, if anything, this would keep them from bothering her about _publicity_ and all that, “Especially those. I never really had the chance or the reason to eat fancy you know?”

Cinder considered the answer for a moment, “Me neither. I think I know what i’ll want, and you?”

“I’ve had something in mind for a while,” Pyrrha said. She watched closely, mesmerized by the way Cinder’s hair covered one of her eyes. Cinder, for her part, obliviously moved her finger across the touchscreen.

Cinder had ordered the “Noodles with Vale Mountain Delicacies”, a mix of noodles in a generous amount of meat and vegetable sauce. Pyrrha, for her part, preferred the veggie soup. The Vale climate was kind of cold that time of the year, and a steaming hot soup seemed like it would make for a good combination, and the clear aroma perfectly accompanied the flavor. As soon as the food was served, she pressed her card onto the scroll tablet, prompting a digital number pad to type in her password.

“I didn’t know there were so many types of dishes,” Cinder said.

“What? But so many of these are Mistralian!”

Cinder smiled, “What can I say, we learn something every day. And I must say, these built-in scroll menus are quite the interesting addition to a table.”

“Yeah, they’re not just menus either,” Pyrrha clicked on an arrow, prompting a ‘return?’ message, “You can also play games on them while you wait for your order, it has a cross continental net connection, and some music too,”

“What is this one, ‘Candy Combine’?”

“Oh yeah that one’s pretty fun!” Pyrrha said, remembering the game. It was a shoot ‘em up series, where they could play as a dessert that lived in a secret town, gathering sweets along the path to fight against a series of different threats. The one they had installed was likely Candy Combine and the Unspecific Fantasmal Object, where they investigate a strange flying object in the sky.

Cinder seemed confused upon opening the game, “Why does this cupcake wear a wide brim hat, and flies with a broom?”

“Because she’s a witch!”

“I didn’t know witches could do that...” Cinder said. She looked puzzled, like something she took for a granted was being challenged on a fundamental level.

“Of course they can,” Pyrrha answered, prompting Cinder to contemplate on the matter.

Every time something so simple appeared so far out of reach, fate would remind Pyrrha again that she was wrong. Maybe it wasn’t destiny after all when causality could be another explanation, so much time spent by herself, fighting or improving upon her fighting, it was easy to forget about the little things.

_This is sure a lot better than spending another day on Beacon._

Oh right, Beacon.

She hadn’t had the time to tell Cinder about any of it, be it how Glynda was looking for her, and not only that, about the conversation she’d heard the other day. Or perhaps she had the time, and somewhere deep inside simply didn’t want to bring it up. Was it the best time to do so? At that point, Pyrrha wasn’t even sure she wanted to.

Well, she didn’t have to, they could take care of that later after all. Glynda said she wasn’t in trouble so it shouldn’t be a problem, right? Besides, she kind of owed Cinder something nice, that’s what people did when they were dating right? They showed each other some appreciation. They’ve kissed twice, went to a party together, and Pyrrha stalked Cinder once, so that meant they were basically dating.

After the staff at Adelaine’s was kind enough to allow them to leave through the back door, they walked through the somewhat empty streets. Thankfully, word hadn’t spread too far yet, and Cinder’s disguise seemed to help as the few people that might’ve recognized her dismissed it as a lookalike.

“Do you want to visit some other place, before we go back?” Pyrrha asked. She was genuinely curious, but part of her also wanted to know if there was something, anything Cinder wanted. The rest of her wished she was straight forward enough to simply ask.

Cinder brought a hand to her chin, thinking for a few moments, “Hm, not unless you do, I sometimes struggle to think of anything mundane.We must inevitably return to Beacon, don’t we?”

“Yeah, yeah I think so too.”

“Plus, given how the Huntsmen and Huntresses of Vale seem to be stretched thin, I think we might need to return before the evening. The latest crime spree seems to have everyone on edge as of late.”

Pyrrha’s eyebrows shot up at the statement, how could she forget something so basic? Then again, she’d much prefer to leave law enforcement to other authorities, and arresting one or two thieves would never change the reasons they stole in the first place, “Oh! I don’t think we need to worry about that! They have a bunch of those androids now, so it should be fine. I mean they can’t handle a Grimm but even we struggle with that from time to time.”

“Are they really that much better? I can’t seem to find it in me to trust their presence. I’m sorry, I must be boring you”

“Not at all! Did you know that’s the exact reason they replaced them with the new models?”

“I’m aware. It simply makes me uneasy, I suppose? Knowing that Atlas military is everywhere in Vale. We were all supposed to be demilitarized by now, weren’t we?”

It was a tough question, but perhaps something that everyone collectively chose to ignore as time went by. It became normal, and Atlas became ever more audacious, not only increasing the numbers of their army, but adding androids built alongside the Schnees. General Ironwood seemed a bit too happy about deploying them too.

Pyrrha didn’t know what to say about it, but she agreed with the feeling, “Yes. I don’t think I’ve thought about it like that.”

“I think we would be quite fine if some muggers faced us. Short of heavy ordnance or some corrupt Huntsmen among them, I don’t know what could get past my aura, much less yours. But the Atlas military on the other hand… Well, we all know what they can do.”

And they’ve seen some of their actions too. That much went unsaid.

“I think that makes a lot of sense. I try not to judge because we don’t always have all the facts, but it’s getting harder and harder lately.” Pyrrha sighed, it was good to share the weight with someone else, for once. Before silence could set between them, she continued, “We still haven’t heard about what happened that day at the tower, and every day It seems more and more like they’re trying to sweep it under the rug.”

“Is that a problem? It seems like a lot are content with concealing things for the greater good.”

“I _hate_ it. I still wonder if the people we saved are recovering, but it’s not like they let us do much after we saved them.”

Cinder watched her, stoic as always. She took off the glasses, then held Pyrrha’s hands, looking at them, “I think that’s magnificent. Can I share a secret with you?”

“Wha-of course! Anything.”

“Since I was a little girl, I’ve always wanted to be a Huntress, because everyone said they would always save people. They’d find injustices and fix them through battle, purge evil through sword and artillery. I was too young to realize at that time that I’d never seen a Huntress with my own eyes. But right now, listening to you, it feels like I finally understand what they were talking about.”

When Cinder leaned closer and pressed her lips to Pyrrha’s, the same battle instinct flew through her again, her aura yelling at her to get out of the way, albeit at this time, a lesser scream. Whatever that was, she decided it wasn’t worth her attention when they finally pulled out of the kiss.

Pyrrha couldn’t look at her in the eye, so Cinder was the first one to speak up, “So, how about we take the boat ride back to Beacon?”

***

“Miss Fall and Miss Nikos! Do I need to remind you both of Beacon protocol?”

Cinder didn’t think that of all people, Glynda would be waiting for them at the Beacon docks. In fact, she might’ve preferred it if it was anyone else.

Pyrrha apologized almost on instinct, “I’m sorry! I just thought-”

Miss Goodwitch interrupted her almost immediately, annoyed, “Regardless of what you thought, It won't be a problem, Imust simply ask you both that next time you wish to leave, please, Sign the appropriate forms.”

She handed them both papers, a pair of fillable forms. They read:

_I (student name here) will leave Beacon premises for the purposes of:_

_[ ] Recreation_

_[ ] Family Gathering_

_[ ] Dust Shopping_

Along with at least a dozen other options, and one last option that allowed the student to fill in for unforeseen occurrences.

Glynda called for their attention again, “This time I managed to avoid having them start an official search, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to do it again, especially when surveillance will be growing strict soon. Please, be more careful next time.”

Glynda walked back to the academy, unflinching. It was good that she didn’t seem too angry, given that Cinder would rather face anything else right after a lengthy trip to Mountain Glenn. And she was kinder? No, that was incorrect. Something about her appeared different, and why would she say anything about being careful, when Cinder was careful all the time?

If Glynda walking away was a good thing because it meant she wouldn’t have to worry about vigilant eyes on her, it also meant she’d have to think about her own very avoidable mistake, and that was a punishment of its own.

But what was all that about being careful next time?


End file.
